HOOVER, Ala. (September 17, 2024) – The University of North Alabama women's golf team had a strong finish to its first three-round tournament of the season on Tuesday, finishing fifth of 14 teams at the Hoover Invitational hosted by UAB with a final card of 300-294-301 to finish 31-over-par 895.
While the 301 round was the highest of the three for UNA, it was the fourth-lowest final round in the 14-team field. Only Alabama, Georgia and Southern Miss had a better round on Tuesday.
Entering the day in seventh place, the Lions shot up to fifth overall to place one stroke ahead of sixth place South Alabama and six strokes ahead of Atlantic Sun Conference rival Stetson. The Lions also beat Samford, host school UAB, Tennessee Tech, Kennesaw State, Loyola-Chicago, West Georgia and Palm Beach State College.
Alabama won the tournament with a final score of 296-286-289 to finish seven-over-par 871. Louisiana-Monroe finished second overall, followed by Southern Miss, Georgia and UNA.
In a field of 89 golfers, UNA had four individuals within the top 30 and all five within the top 40.
Returning seniors
Jahnavi Prakhya and
Hannah Dees climbed up the leaderboard on the final day, including a one-over-par 73 round by Dees to lead the Lions on the final day. Prakhya and redshirt sophomore
Kerigan Klauber led UNA overall with a +8 three-round score to place 22nd. Dees finished one stroke behind at +9 to sit tied for 26th.
The newcomers also aided UNA on the final day, as sophomore
Gracee Prince finished one stroke behind Dees at +10. Aided by her even-par in the opening round, she finished +4 and +6 in the final two rounds to tie for 29th.
True freshman
Sirichaya Chanpen matched Dees for the largest leap on the final day, moving up nine spots to finish tied for 40th in the top half of the field. She carded a 74 and 76 in the final two rounds to overcome an 81 in the opening frame.
The Lions combined for seven birdies in the final round, including two each from Prince, Prakhya and Dees.
"It was nice to see our depth coming through and everyone make valuable contributions to the team score," said UNA head coach Neil Self. "Overall, I'm very happy with the team performance."
The Lions are back in action next Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 23-24 at the Marsh Landing Match Play hosted by ASUN member Jacksonville. The event will be hosted at Marsh Landing Golf Club in Jacksonville, Fla.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
