JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (September 22, 2024) – The University of North Alabama women's golf team will play in Florida for the sixth time in seven seasons this week, as the Lions are one of six teams participating in the Marsh Landing Match Play hosted by Jacksonville.
 
This will be the first match play event in the program's seven-year history.
 
Tournament Information
Marsh Landing Match Play
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Marsh Landing Country Club
Host School: Jacksonville
Sunday, September 22: Practice Round
Monday, September 23: Matches 1 & 2
Tuesday, September24: Match 3
 
Live Scoring
 
NOTABLES
 
MATCH PLAY: For the first time ever, UNA will participate in match play format. Instead of a traditional shotgun start and round-by-round leaderboard, the Lions will go head-to-head with an opponent on each hole and try to win the most holes. There will be three matches, including two on Monday and one on Tuesday. Like a tournament bracket, the winning team will advance to next round, while the losing team will play a consolation match. The team that wins all three matches will be the match play champion. Seedings and opponents will be determined before Monday's tee time.
 
THE FIELD: The Lions are the only non-Florida school in the field of eight teams. Joining UNA will be Atlantic Sun Conference competitors Jacksonville and Stetson, Bethune-Cookman, Embry-Riddle, Palm Beach Atlantic, Nova Southeastern and Seminole State College. The field includes four Division I schools, three from Division II and one junior college.
 
THE COURSE: The Marsh Landing Country Club Golf Course is 18-holes and 6,851 yards. The par-72 course is located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. about 20-30 minutes outside of Jacksonville. This will be UNA's first time playing the course.
 
BACK IN FLORIDA: Over the last four spring seasons, UNA played in the Lady Bison Classic hosted in Panama City Beach by Lipscomb. The Lions also played in St. Augustine at the Lonnie Barton Invitational in 2019 during the first season of the program.
 
LAST TIME OUT: UNA finished fifth in a field of 14 teams at the Hoover Invitational this past week, finishing just nine strokes back of fourth place Georgia. The Lions edged South Alabama by one stroke, while also beating Stetson, Samford, UAB, Tennessee Tech, Kennesaw State, Loyola-Chicago, West Georgia and Palm Beach State.
 
KLAUBER TIME: Redshirt sophomore Kerigan Klauber shot a career-low round at one-under-par 71 last Monday in Hoover and went on to finish tied for 22nd at eight-over-par for the tournament. This tied for the team lead with senior Jahnavi Prakhya and was one stroke better than fellow senior Hannah Dees.
 
DEPTH SHOWING OUT: With newcomers Gracee Prince and Sirichaya Chanpen rounding out the lineup with top-half finishes at Hoover, the Lions had all five golfers in the top 40 and four of the five in the top 30. There were 91 golfers in the field.
 
WHITTLE BACK IN THE LINEUP: True freshman Olivia Whittle will make her second appearance for the Lions this week. The England native debuted at the Tiger Classic hosted in Clemson, S.C. and was the second-best finisher for the Lions at seven-over-par through two rounds.
 
ELSA TO DEBUT: Another true freshman will make her season debut on Monday, as Iceland native Elsa Maren Steinarsdottir is in the lineup for match play. She is one of five newcomers on the roster this season, a group that represents five different countries.
 
UNA LINEUP
#1 – Jahnavi Prakhya — Sr. — Gujarat, India
#2 – Hannah Dees — Sr. — Fairhope, Ala.
#3 – Kerigan Klauber — R-So. — Athens, Tenn.
#4 – Olivia Whittle — Fr. — Penkridge, England
#5 – Elsa Maren Steinarsdottir — Fr. — Akranes, Iceland
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.