October 25, 2003

GEORGIA FIRES 283 TO TAKE SOLO LEAD IN LADY PALADIN

GREENVILLE, South Carolina -- The Georgia Bulldogs proved once again on Saturday why they are the seventh ranked women¹s golf team in the nation, firing a five-under 283 in the 33rd annual Lady Paladin Invitational to pull ahead of second-place Tulsa by 11 strokes with a 574 two-day total.

Tulsa and UGA entered Saturday¹s round tied after a pair of 291s on Friday, while LSU was third after a first-round 304, and TCU was fourth at 305.

UGA¹s Whitney Wade is also atop the individual leaderboard after a bogey-free round in which she carded a four-under 68 for a two-day four-under-par 140, two strokes ahead of defending Lady Paladin Champion Brooke Tull of TCU. Tull followed up her first round 72 with a two-under 70, carding a three-under 33 on the fron nine, including an eagle on the par five second hole. Wade¹s teammate, Lisa Tyler, is also still in the hunt for the individual lead after firing a 71 on Saturday to stand at one-under entering the final round at the 5,984-yard, par 72 Furman University Golf Course.

The host Lady Paladins took 10 strokes off Friday¹s 308 and moved from seventh into fifth with a 606 total, eight strokes ahead of College of Charleston, but nine strokes behind fourth place Louisiana State. The Lady Paladins were paced by Sarah Johnston and Connor Atkinson, who each carded 74, while Jenny Suh and Tiarna Harman each fired 75. Freshman Monique Gesualdi was the non-counter on Saturday, after shooting 81.

Suh is the top Lady Paladin in the field entering the final round, with a 15th-place 150. Johnston is 18th at 151, while Atkinson and Harman are tied for 29th at 154.

The third and final round of the Lady Paladin Invitational is set for a 9 a.m. shotgun start on Sunday. The University of Georgia won its first Lady Paladin Invitational title in 1979. The Bulldogs last won the Lady Paladin in 1998, with a three-day 905 total.