RAPID CITY, S.D. – Oklahoma City University's women's golf team will try for its sixth consecutive national crown at the NAIA Championships May 25-28 at Meadowbrook Golf Course.
The Stars, ranked second in the NAIA, are coming off an impressive performance in the final round to win the Sooner Athletic Conference Championships. OCU rallied from a six-shot deficit to edge Southern Nazarene by two strokes for the team title.
OCU also had the top two individual performers with Laura Jones and Paige Martin finishing 1-2, respectively.
Jones, a junior from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England, fired a 77-70–147 to win the SAC championships for the second year in a row. Martin compiled an 80-70–150, three strokes off the pace of Jones.
“Both have worked really hard to get where they are today,” OCU coach M.J. Desbiens said of Jones and Martin. “Hopefully that will continue into nationals. I think both of them have matured mentally, and they responded to the challenge.”
The four-day NAIA Championships will be played Tuesday through Friday at the par-72, 6,000-yard Meadowbrook Golf Course. Temperatures for the tournament are projected to be in the mid 60s with a chance of thunderstorms on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Stars have endured the toughest schedule in the NAIA, competing mostly against NCAA competition. With four newcomers on the team, Desbiens is proud of the way her team has responded.
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) enters the tournament as the nation's No. 1 team after overtaking OCU in the final two polls. The Stars had been ranked No. 1 dating back to February 2009.
“This has been a trying season with four new freshmen on the team,” she said. “They've responded really well and adjusted well. They've fulfilled their commitment to the team. They're engaged to the challenge.”
Jones said, “I think Paige and I put pressure on ourselves. We have a young team. We need to remember that we have a young team looking up to us.
“We struggled early, but we're playing well now. I believe we can make it six national championships in a row.”
Jones leads the team with a 77.78 scoring average in 18 rounds this year. She has three top-10 finishes, including the victory at the SAC Championships. She also placed third at the Oklahoma City Star Classic and in a tie for tenth at the Hurricane Invitational.
Martin has posted 78.19 shots per round with four top-10 finishes this season. She will be making her first trip to the NAIA Championships.
The lone senior on the team is Morgan Gay. Gay, from Lindsay, Okla., ranks fourth on the squad with an 80.60 average. She will look to build off an all-American performance in the national tournament a year ago.
Tanya Tibshraeny, a freshman from Westhaven, Kirkwood, South Africa, has averaged 80.52 shots in 21 round this season.
Taylor Howard, a freshman from Ada, Okla., averaged 82.05 strokes in 21 rounds. Howard finished fourth at the Oklahoma City Star Classic.
