May 9, 2002

FURMAN WOMEN NINTH AFTER FIRST-ROUND 298 AT REGIONALS;

PERRI CARDS THREE-UNDER 69

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Furman's Lady Paladin golf team fired a 298 in the first round of the NCAA East Regional on Thursday, and is tied for ninth with South Carolina in the 21-team field. The three round tournament continues on Friday and will wrap up its 54-holes of competition on Saturday, with the top eight finishers earning berths in the NCAA National Championship, May 21-24 at the Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Wash.

The Lady Paladins were led on Thursday by Jennifer Perri (Eden Prairie, Minn.), who fired a three-under 69 at the 6,276-yard, par 72 University Club and is tied for fourth with Florida's Whitney Code and Auburn's Celeste Troche. Perri made the turn at even par after recording bogeys on numbers two and nine and birdies on six and eight. On the back side, Perri birdied two of the first three holes to go to two-under, than added a birdie on 16 to advance to minus-three. A bogey on number 17 put Perri back at two-under, but a birdie on the 376-yard, par four 18th gave the senior her first 69 since the season's first tournament - the Mason Rudolph Invitational which she won.

In addition to Perri's 69, junior Brandi Jackson (Belton, S.C.) fired a one-over 73 and is in 21st, after recording all pars except for a single bogey on the 393-yard, par four seventh hole. Leigh Turner (Alpharetta, Ga.) added a 77 to the Furman effort and is 56th, while Cimmie Shahan (Spring Grove, Pa.) shot 79 and Sarah Johnston (St. Charles, Ill.) carded a non-counting 80.

The 12th-ranked Gators of Florida are in the lead after a first-round, two-under 286, while top-ranked Auburn is second at 287 and South Florida is third at 289. The individual leaderboard shows a tie between North Carolina's Beth Lever, South Florida's Jarneica Duncombe and LSU's Meredith Duncan after each shot 68 on Thursday.

On Friday, Furman will remain paired with South Carolina and Wake Forest, but will tee off the 10th hole beginning at 12:40 p.m. The final round pairings and tee times will be determined by each team's standings, with the top 12 teams going off in the morning to ensure the completion of their rounds.

Furman Results

4th Jennifer Perri 69

21st Brandi Jackson 73

56th Leigh Turner 77

80th Cimmie Shahan 79

88th Sarah Johnston 80

T9th Team 298