February 26, 2000

PERRI RETAINS LEAD AS FURMAN MOVES INTO THIRD

GAINESVILLE, Florida -- Furman sophomore Jennifer Perri carded a second-day 72 on Saturday to remain atop the leaderboard at the SunTrust Lady Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.

In addition, Perri staked the Lady Paladins to a second-round 303, which moved the team from a tie for fifth into a tie for third with a two-day 615 total. The Lady Paladins are six strokes off the lead which is currently held by Auburn and one stroke out of second place, which the South Carolina Gamecocks claimed with a 614 tally.

Combined with her first-day 69, Perri's even-par showing on Saturday gives her a 141 total and five stroke lead over South Carolina's Kristy McPherson and Central Florida's Monica Gundersrud. Furman's Lindsay Smith won the University of Florida title in 1999, becoming Furman's first Lady Gator champion since 1976, when Betsy King took the title.

In addition to Perri's 72, Furman's Stacey Burnett moved into 15th with a second-round 76, Tara Schultz improved to 42nd with a 79, Cimmie Shahan carded a 78 and is in 55th, and Brandi Jackson fired a 77 to stand in 59th. Junior Dara Broadus, who is playing as an individual, fired an 80 and is 37th overall with a 159 total.

The final round of the SunTrust Lady Gator is slated for Sunday at the 5,829-yard, par 72 University of Florida Golf Course.

Furman Results

1st Jennifer Perri 69-72=141

15th Stacey Burnett 78-76=154

42nd Tara Schultz 81-79=160

55th Cimmie Shahan 84-78=162

59th Brandi Jackson 86-77=163

37th Dara Broadus, Ind. 79-80=159