May 10, 2002

FURMAN WOMEN TIED FOR EIGHTH AFTER ROUND TWO OF REGIONALS;

JOHNSTON FIRES CAREER-BEST 69

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Furman's Lady Paladin golf team fired a second-round 297 on the strength of a career-best 69 by junior Sarah Johnston (St. Charles, Ill.), and moved into a three-way tie for eighth at the NCAA East Regional in Baton Rouge, La. The top eight teams after Saturday's final round will earn berths in the NCAA Championships, May 21-24, at Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Wash.

Johnston, who is 36th in the individual standings, carded three birdies, an eagle, and two bogeys en route to her three-under finish at the 6,276-yard University Club. The eagle came on hole 18 (the Lady Paladins' ninth hole) when Johnston found the cup with a pitching wedge from 116 yards out.

In addition to Johnston's 69, senior Jennifer Perri (Eden Prairie, Minn.) followed up her first-round 69 with a 76 and is in 14th in the individual standings at 145, while Brandi Jackson (Belton, S.C.) and Leigh Turner (Alpharetta, Ga.) also fired 76 to stand in 36th and 65th, repsectively. Cimmie Shahan (Spring Grove, Pa.) was the non-counter on the day after carding 84, and is 101st with a 163 total.

Duke University, the second ranked team in the nation, is leading the East Regional with a two-day 571 total. Florida is five strokes back in second, while No. 1 Auburn is third at 580. Wake Forest is in fourth at 581, with South Florida in fifth (585), South Carolina in sixth (591), and Vanderbilt in seventh (592). The Lady Paladins are tied with Georgia and Tulane at 595, while Memphis lurks in 11th at 596 and the host Tigers of LSU are 12th at 597.

Though tied for eight, Furman will tee off in the 10th spot on Saturday, which means a 7:30 a.m. tee time off hole 10. The Lady Paladins will be paired with Memphis and LSU.

Furman's last trip to the NCAA Championships was in 1999, when the Lady Paladins placed 15th at the Tulsa Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

Furman Results

14th Jennifer Perri 69-76=145

36th Brandi Jackson 73-76=149

36th Sarah Johnston 80-69=149

65th Leigh Turner 77-76=153

101st Cimmie Shahan 79-84=163

T8th Team 298-297=595