Tournament #9: Hawkeye-El Tigre Invitational
Date: April 2-4, 2017
Location: El-Tigre Golf Club: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Host: Iowa
No. of Teams: 14
Format: 54-holes of stroke play with 18 holes on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.                                                                                        
 Links:  Live Scoring | Twitter 
 
Tournament Preview
The Kennesaw State women's golf team will travel to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to play in the Hawkeye El-Tigre Invitational
 
The teams will play 18 holes on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Sunday's and Monday's rounds are expected to begin at 4p.m., while Tuesday's final round will begin at 10:30 a.m. All three rounds will be shotgun starts.
 
KSU enters having finished in the top 10 in six of its eight tournaments this season.
 
The field for the tournament consists of 14 teams with three of the teams ranked in the Golfstat Top 55.
 
Defending national champion Washington is among the seven power five schools in this week's tournament.
 
 
The Field
The 14-team field includes Iowa, No.49 Wisconsin, Indiana, Rutgers, Idaho, No.54 New Mexico State, Cal State Fullerton, Kennesaw State, Kansas, No. 52 Washington, Coastal Carolina, Nebraska, Texas-San Antonio, and Ole Miss.
 
Lineup
1. Medy Thavong
2. Madison Caldwell
3. Dulcie Sverdloff
4. Charlotte Charrayre
5. Henriette Nielsen
 
 
Quotable
 "The team has been anticipating this trip all spring. We are so fortunate to be able to travel out of the country and compete in Mexico in another stacked field. Iowa has done a great job setting this event up, and the course looks amazing! We will again see a different lineup this week, and I'm again confident in the five players that will tee it up Sunday. We are getting to crunch time leading up to the ASUN Championships, this is another opportunity to fine tune our games and record a solid finish."
 
-Kennesaw State Head Coach Rhyll Brinsmead
 
Thavong Leads Owls to 11th Place Finish at Henssler Intercollegiate
Medy Thavong led The Kennesaw State women's golf team to an 11th place finish in Tuesday's final round of the Henssler Intercollegiate at Pinetree Country Club.Thavong made two early birdies on her front nine and closed her round with six consecutive pars to post the Owls low round of the day at 1-over par 73. Thavong finished the tournament tied for 14th with a five-over par total of 221. She tied for the field lead with 39 pars in the tournament. Thavong was the Owls top scorer for the fourth time this spring and sixth this season. The Owls posted a 306 in the final round for a total of 36-over par 900 total. No. 13 Kent State won the event with a total of 12-over par 876 by one shot over No.24 Purdue and two shots over No.35 Texas Tech.
 
Next Up
The Owls will travel to Macon, Georgia for the Brickyard Intercollegiate hosted by Mercer at the Brickyard Golf Club April, 2-4.
 
KSU Team Notes
 Caldwell Tabbed ASUN Golfer of the Week
Sophomore Madison Caldwell has been named the ASUN Conference Women's Golfer of the Week, the conference announced on Thursday (March 30). Caldwell had a strong performance during the Henssler Intercollegiate as she tied for sixth place while competing as an individual. The Dawsonville, Ga. native posted rounds of 73-72-72 for a 54-hole total of one-over par 217, finishing four shots out of first place. Her 36-hole total of 145 and final score of 217 established career-best totals. Caldwell made 35 pars and 10 birdies during the three-round tournament.Caldwell's performance came in a field that included five teams ranked in Golfstat's top 50 and six players ranked in the top 50. Only co-individual medalists 26th-ranked August Kim of Purdue, and 11th-ranked Pimnipa Panthong of Kent State finished ahead of Caldwell among ranked players.
 
Thavong Earns ASUN Golfer of the Week Honors
Kennesaw State women's golf sophomore Medy Thavong earned her second career ASUN Conference Women's Golfer of the Week after finishing tied for fifth at the JU Amelia Island Collegiate earlier this week; the league announced on Thursday (Feb.23).
Thavong led the Owls to a fourth-place finish in the Jacksonville University-hosted event, as she posted her career-low round, 66 in Tuesday's final round. The Prachinburi, Thailand native opened the two-day tournament with a two-over par 74 before following it up with rounds of four-over par 76 and six-under-par 66 to finish with a total of even-par 216. Her 66 joined her with former Owls Ines Lescudier and current assistant coach Ket Preamchuen for the lowest round on a par-72 course in program history.
 
Owls Solid during the Fall Season
The Owls posted five Top 15 and four straight Top 10 finishes as a team to close out the fall season.  Sophomore Medy Thavong led the way for the Owls in the fall with a 73.67 scoring average, three top 10 finishes and a win at the Johnie Imes Invitational. Her 36-hole score of 139 is the lowest in program history, while her total score of 211 is the second lowest 54-hole score on a par 72 course in program history. Her win was the seventh individual tournament victory by a KSU player since 2005-06.Senior Dulcie Sverdloff had another strong fall posting a 74.27 scoring average and two top 20 finishes. Her second round five-under par 67 at the Johnie Imes Invitational is the Owls lowest individual round this season. The senior enters her final spring of collegiate golf needing to complete just 11 rounds to become the all-time leader in career rounds played at KSU. Henriette Nielsen played in four fall tournaments and posted a 75.83 scoring average has returned to form after an injury hampered her for most of her sophomore season. Senior Laura Estefenn collected her second career ASUN Conference Women's Golfer of the Week accolade after leading the Owls at the Lady Paladin Invitational Sept.23-25. Sophomore Charlotte Charrayre closed the fall with a tied for 31st place finish at the Palmetto Intercollegiate. The Owls are hopeful that reigning ASUN Player of the Year Clara Aveling can return to action after being injured during the fall.
  
Talented Transfer Madison Caldwell Joins Team
When the Owls return to action, in the spring, there will be a new face on the roster. Madison Caldwell, a sophomore, has a signed a grant-in-aid agreement and will join the team in the spring of 2017. Caldwell comes to KSU after playing her freshman season at Western Carolina. She played in all 10 of the team's tournaments a year ago, finishing third on the squad with a seasonal stroke average of 77.32. The Dawsonville, Georgia native carded 22 of 28 rounds in the 70s with a career-low of 69 in the final round of the Ole Miss Rebel Intercollegiate.
 
Thavong Named ASUN Golfer of the Week
Kennesaw State women's golf sophomore Medy Thavong earned her first career ASUN Conference Women's Golfer of the Week after collecting her first collegiate win at the Johnie Imes Invitational earlier this week, the league announced on Thursday (Oct.6). The Prachinburi, Thailand native opened the two-day tournament with a 2-under par 70 before following it up with rounds of 3-under par 69 and even-par 72 to finish with a total of 5-under par 211. Her 36-hole score of 139 is the lowest in program history, while her total score of 211 is the second lowest 54-hole score on a par 72 course in program history. Her win was the seventh individual tournament victory by a KSU player since 2005-06.
 
Estefenn Named ASUN Golfer of the Week
Senior Laura Estefenn collected her second career ASUN Conference Women's Golfer of the Week accolade after leading the Owls at the Lady Paladin Invitational Sept.23-25, the league announced on Thursday (Sept.29). The Bogota, Columbia native opened the three-day tournament with a four-over par 76 before following it up with rounds one-over par 73 and even-par 72 to finish tied for 34th. Her round of 72 is tied for the KSU individual season-low round this season. For the tournament, Estefenn, rolled in eight birdies and 34 pars.
 
A Season of Growth
The 2015-16 Kennesaw State women's golf campaign featured a very young competitive squad that featured four underclassmen and two upperclassmen. The team collected a win at the Terrier Intercollegiate. The Owls registered seven top-10 finishes and five top-5 finishes while rookie Clara Aveling took home Freshman and Player of the Year, and ASUN Medalist honors, respectively. Junior Dulcie Sverdloff and Aveling earned first-team honors, while Medy Thavong was named to the second-team and earned All-Freshman Team accolades along with Aveling andCharlotte Charrayre.
 
Sverdloff and Thavong Earn Academic Honors
Dulcie Sverdloff and Medy Thavong were named to the 2015-16 Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar Team. Sverdloff was named to the WGCA All-American Scholar team for the third year in a row while majoring in sports management with a 3.71 GPA. Thavong earned a 4.0 GPA while majoring in International Business.
 
Owls in the Rankings
Kennesaw State was ranked No. 90 by Golfstat and No.94 by Golfweek heading into play this weekend.
 
Head Coach Rhyll Brinsmead
Head coach Rhyll Brinsmead is in her 10th season at the helm of the Kennesaw State women's golf program. In her time as an Owl, she has led KSU to a pair of Atlantic Sun Conference titles and NCAA Regional Championship appearances, coming in 2011-2012 and 2014-15. A talented golfer in her own right, Brinsmead played collegiately at Texas State and graduated in 2004.
 

 To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State women's golf news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsWmnsGolf or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.  
 
 
 

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