9.28.2011

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University women's golf was idle from competition this past week.  The Lancers, coached by seventh-year head coach Ali Wright, return to action this Friday through Sunday, September 30-October 2, at the 54-hole Nittany Lion Invitational hosted by Penn State University on the Penn State Blue Course in State College, Pennsylvania.

A Quick Look Back At The Yale Women's Intercollegiate
Junior Ariel Witmer|North Lima, Ohio (South Range) led Longwood with her collegiate-best 221 that placed her third in the field of 78.  She was followed closely by sophomore Amanda Steinhagen|Oak Hill (Oakton) (223, t-5th), along with fifth-year senior Kameron Carter|Bassett (Bassett) (235, t-24th), junior Ha Lee|Hagerstown, Md. (Smithsburg) (237, t-31st), and sophomore Hannah Pierce|King George (King George) (238, t-36th).  Pierce posted a new collegiate-best for 54-holes as well.  Harvard University won the event with its 894, just ahead of the runners-up Lancers (910) among the 16-team field.  Witmer's opening round of 70 tied for the second-best round of the tournament, while Steinhagen's first-day round of 71 was the fifth-best individual round of the event.

Head Coach Ali Wright
“We were forced to take a few days off in preparation for the Penn State Invitational because of wet weather.  This time off gave our team the chance to catch up on schoolwork and for everyone to fully recover from what appeared to be the flu.  The Penn State golf course is usually set up long, and with cold weather being in the forecast, the course should play even longer.  Our team hits the ball long and so the long course and cold conditions should be to our advantage.”

In The Rankings
Longwood is ranked 66th among 235 Division I women's golf teams in the first Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings released Sept. 27.  The Lancers received a rating of 75.29 while attaining its first-ever top-100 ranking since becoming Division I-eligible for 2007-08.  Longwood finished last year ranked #101. Texas is the top-ranked program this week with its rating of 70.30.

In The Record Book
Ariel Witmer tied for the third-best 54-hole score in school history with her five-over-par 70-74-77--221, matching that most-recently posted by Kara Spence and teammate Kameron Carter at the same tournament in 2007.  Her two-under round of 70 tied as the fifth-best low round, last attained by, ironically, Spence and Carter in 2008, though at different events that year.  Witmer's 36-hole score of even-par 70-74--144 tied the seventh-best in program history.

Little Separation At The Top | Season Statistics
Through two tournaments and six rounds of golf, only three shots separate the top two golfers so far for Longwood.  Amanda Steinhagen (447) is averaging 74.50 with a low round of 71. Ariel Witmer (450) is averaging 75.00 with the team's low round of 70.  Kameron Carter (461) follows with her average of 76.83 with a low round of 73, along with Ha Lee (471-78.50, 74) and Hannah Pierce (479-79.83, 74). The Lancers are averaging 303.50 as a team through two events, and while early, ahead of the school-record scoring average of 307.50 during 2010-11 that included one tournament win and a runner-up finish among nine top-10 team efforts overall with 26 top-20 individual finishes.

A Look At The Nittany Lion Invitational
The three-day, 54-hole tournament will include 18 holes each on Friday, Sept. 30, Saturday, Oct. 1, and Sunday, Oct. 2.  The Penn State Blue Course will play approximately 6,200-yards and is a par 72 layout.  Penn State is the defending champion after posting a 901 last year. Longwood finished seventh among 17 teams in the event a year ago with its 933. Ariel Witmer tied for 10th last fall with rounds of 76-77-74--227.

Up Next
Longwood will participate in the East Carolina Intercollegiate Oct. 10-11, a 54-hole tournament at the Greenville Country Club in Greenville, North Carolina.