Women's Golf Finishes 8th in MSU Ocala Spring Invitational

J. Andrew Lockwood
Senior Editor / Columnist

After two days of placing in the middle of the field, the Mercer women’s golf team settled in 8th after the third and final round of the MSU Ocala Spring Invitational. In the team’s final tune-up before the Atlantic Sun Championship Tournament, the Mercer women showed signs of improvement from recent tournaments with two consecutive days of shooting 311 as a team.

Daytona State College (+22) would wind up beating the field with a scorching 288 as a team during the final round, closely followed by Stetson (+29), Florida Southern (+48) and Morehead State (+60). Mercer would finish behind St. Leo (+80) with a cumulative score of +88.

Individually, freshman Kaitlin Marrin (76-74-79) notched the Bears best finish in 12th place at +13 through the three rounds. Marrin’s second round 74 was the lowest round for anyone on the team during the weekend and certainly a testament to the tenacity that she has exhibited on the golf course during her first-year campaign as a Bear.

Senior Monica Kelsey (+18) finished close behind in 22nd after recording three rounds in the 70s as well (79-77-78). Kimberly Graff (+26) put two promising rounds of golf together during the first half of the weekend, shooting a 79 and 76 during the first two rounds before an eventual 37th place finish while teammates Alicia Poole (+39) and Kayli Wicker (+40) rounded out the field.

With the final regular season tournament complete for Gary Guyer’s squad, the Belle Bears head to New Smyrna Beach, Florida to play in the season-ending Atlantic Sun Championship Tournament. Held at the Venetian Bay Golf Club, the tournament will mark the last campaign for senior Monica Kelsey (a Florida native) as well as the team for the 2010 spring season.