9.7.2011

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University will open its 2011-12 women's golf campaign at the Dale McNamara Invitational hosted by the University of Tulsa. The 54-hole tournament will be played Monday through Wednesday, September 12-14, at the Patriot Golf Club in Owasso, Oklahoma. Seventh-year head coach Ali Wright returns five letterwinners, including fifth-year senior Kameron Carter|Bassett (Bassett), the school's career scoring leader (75.89).

A Look At Longwood
In addition to Carter, Longwood returns two juniors in Ha Lee|Hagerstown, Md. (Smithsburg) and Ariel Witmer|North Lima, Ohio (South Range), along with three sophomores in Hannah Pierce|King George (King George), Amanda Steinhagen|Oak Hill (Oakton), and Megan McCracken|Powhatan (Powhatan). Carter, Lee, Witmer, Pierce, and Steinhagen have all seen extensive tournament action for the Lancers. Carter is the older sister of Blake Carter, a freshman member of the Longwood men's golf team. She played in just one tournament a year ago, and gained a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA following back surgery in December.

Head Coach Ali Wright
“Our team has worked and gotten better over the summer months and during the first two weeks of school to prepare for their strongest collegiate field at an event to date. Everyone is looking forward to having the opportunity to tee it up against Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Kansas and other women's golf powerhouses. Matching our players up against the top teams in the nation at the University of Tulsa next week will boost our strength of schedule and also give us confidence heading into the rest of our season.”

Summer Successes
Steinhagen won the 86th Virginia State Golf Association (VSGA) Women's Amateur Championship July 11-15 at the Belle Haven Country Club in Alexandria. She birdied the opening hole of the championship match to lead from the start while defeating Ju Hee Bae of Chantilly 5 and 4 in the final, taking a 4 up advantage after just seven holes en route to her second consecutive VSGA Women's Am title. Steinhagen had qualified for match play with her 36-hole score of 75-74--149 in stroke play qualifying earlier in the week. She is the first repeat winner in the event since Mandy Beamer '01, a former Longwood All-American, won back-to-back titles in 2001-02. Steinhagen is now the first player to win the Women's Amateur title two-straight years while also the reigning VSGA Junior Girls' champion.  She and Pierce finished third and fifth, respectively, at the 34th Virginia Women's Stroke Play Championship June 14-16 at the Willow Oaks Country Club in Richmond. Steinhagen finished at 79-79-73--231, while Pierce posted 76-75-84--235.

A Look Back At 2010-11
Longwood established a new school-record 307.50 team scoring average during 2010-11, competing in 10 events while earning one tournament win and a runner-up finish among nine top-10 team efforts overall. The Lancers won the Tina Barrett Invitational (588) for the third consecutive year along with a second-place effort at the Snowbird Intercollegiate (613). Individually among returning golfers, Steinhagen averaged 75.96 while playing all 28 rounds, followed by Witmer (77.39), Lee (78.11), Pierce (79.50, 12), and Carter (76.67, 3).

National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Academic Awards
Graduate Brooke Mallory along with Pierce and Steinhagen were named to the 2010-11 All-American Scholar Team by the NGCA. The trio was among the 566 collegiate women's golfers nationwide to achieve this prestigious academic honor with a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.50. Mallory earned the distinction for the fourth consecutive year, while Pierce and Steinhagen were recognized for the first time.

Perfect NCAA Academic Progress Rate
Longwood posted a perfect score of 1,000 in the spring 2011 release of the multi-year NCAA Division I APR. It marked the fourth-straight year that women's golf has been perfect in posting a multi-year APR score within the Top 10 percent of all Division I women's golf teams.

Up Next
Longwood will participate in the Yale Intercollegiate, a 54-hole tournament at The Course at Yale on September 17-18 in New Haven, Connecticut.