Katie Tewell Named National Golfer of the Year; Grizzlies 19th in National Team Standings
May 16, 2008 (Franklin Release)
WAVERLY, IOWA - Franklin College senior Katie Tewell (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove H.S.) finished in a tie for second place among all individuals in the final round of the NCAA Division III women's golf national championship tournament at Centennial Oaks Golf Club in Waverly, Iowa today.
Tewell's final round score of 71 gave her a four-day total of 297. Sophomore Susan Martin of team champion Methodist University (N.C.), playing in the last group of three players to finish, shot a 73 to hold and win the individual title by a three-shot margin. Moreover, Martin was the only Division III level golfer to finish ahead of Tewell in any of FC's competitions in
’07-08.
Tewell tied for second place with senior defending national champion Katie Dick of Methodist. Meghan Sobotta of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (300) and Stephanie Mingos of Rhodes (301) rounded out the top five individual finishers.
Starting on the back nine this morning, Tewell was on fire in the first half of her round today and was four shots under at the break. After scoring an eagle on her 12th hole, she bogeyed four of the last six holes, but Tewell, the two-time Division III national player of the year, still improved upon last year's third-place finish in the NCAA nationals.
Methodist claimed its 11th straight NCAA team championship, edging DePauw by 39 shots and Southwestern (Texas) by 44 strokes. Franklin’s full team combined for a fourth-round team score of 328 – its best of the tournament – but stayed in 19th place in the final team standings with a three-day total of 1,362.
For the Grizzlies, sophomore Grace Adams (Ossian, Ind./Norwell H.S.) shot an 85 and finished in 94th place with a four-round total of 248. Freshman Samantha Marshall (Plainfield, Ind./Cascade H.S.) had an 81 and was 103rd with a 360 total. Sophomore Natalie Daugherty (Vevay, Ind./Switzerland County H.S.) shot a 91 and finished 104th with a 364 total and sophomore Caitlin Purkhiser (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb H.S.) had a 100 and finished 108th with a 377 total.