LADY PALADIN HOSTS 14 TOP-50 TEAMS

NO. 1 AUBURN TO DEFEND TITLE

GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- The 31st edition of the Lady Paladin Invitational Golf Tournament is set for this weekend, Oct. 26-28 at the Furman University Golf Course. Tee times begin Friday and Saturday at 8 a.m. off the first and 10th tee, with a 9 a.m. shotgun start slated for Sunday.

The field is comprised of 21 teams, 14 of which are ranked in the latest Golfweek poll, and features the defending Lady Paladin champion Tigers of Auburn, which sit atop the collegiate rankings. Auburn is led by junior Celeste Troche, who took medalist honors at last year's Lady Paladin in record fashion, setting new tournament standards for total score (210, 6-under par) and first round score (68, four-under par). The Tigers will no doubt be pursued by second-ranked Ohio State, also scheduled to be on hand. In addition, the fifth-ranked Commodores of Vanderbilt, no. 12 Michigan State and no. 15 Florida will also be in the hunt.

The host Lady Paladins, never to be counted out, are ranked 29th by Golfweek, but will compete without senior Jennifer Perri who is sitting out due to injury.

Other ranked teams in the field include North Carolina (20th), Louisiana State (21st), Wake Forest (22nd), Purdue (23rd), TCU (24th), South Carolina (35th), Memphis (37th) and Tulane (41st). In the medalist competition there will be 16 of the top 48 collegiate players on hand, including fourth-ranked Troche of Auburn, no. 5 Nicki Cutler of Vanderbilt, 11th-ranked Mollie Frankhauser of Ohio State, and 12th-ranked Kristy McPherson of South Carolina.

The Lady Paladins will tee off hole no. 1 Friday at 12:24 p.m., teamed with Auburn and South Carolina. Furman will remain teamed with the Tigers and Gamecocks for Saturday's round, but will go off the 10th tee beginning at 8:40 a.m.

The Lady Paladin Invitational has a storied history dating back to its beginnings in 1972, and has been won by well-known LPGA greats Nancy Lopez of Tulsa, Betsy King, Sherri Turner, and Dottie Pepper of Furman, and Donna Andrews of North Carolina.