Sophomore Melanie Green carded her seventh Top 10 finish of the season.
PINEHURST, N.C. (April 19, 2022) – Melanie Green (Medina, N.Y.) turned in her seventh top 10 finish over 10 total events in the 2021-22 season as the University of South Florida women’s golf team collectively placed fifth at the American Athletic Conference Championship played at Pinehurst No. 6.
Green placed sixth individually in the 50-player field and concludes her sophomore season with a number of new program records. Green’s 19 rounds of par or better and her season scoring average of 71.5 are both new high-water marks in USF single-season history. She also opened the campaign with a 54-hole program record of 205 at the USA Intercollegiate in September.
Green carded rounds of 75 (+3), 73 (+1) and 75 for a three-day total of 223 (+7) at the championship event and was just four strokes off the leader. She led the Bulls at the outing with eight total birdies.
South Florida posted team scores of 299, 305 and 301 for a 54-hole total of 905, just one stroke off the fourth-place team. The Bulls’ round of 301 was the second-best in the field during Tuesday’s final round. Tulane claimed the conference title with a team score of 892.
USF’s 162 total pars at the tournament were the third-most in the field and the Bulls were the second-best scoring team on par 5 holes (4.92).
“The team was all heart during the final round and they played for each other,” said head coach Erika Brennan. “That showed with their score on Tuesday which helped them move up the leaderboard. With two freshman and a sophomore in the lineup today, the future of this program is very bright.”
Freshman Juliana Camargo (Bogota, Colombia) tied for 29th individually with a 54-hole score of 232. She finished just ahead of senior Morgan Baxendale (Windermere) who carded a 233 to place 31st. In her lone season with the Bulls, Baxendale was a constant in the lineup and finished second on the team this season in scoring average. Baxendale’s 35 total pars paced USF at the event.
Fellow senior Ashley Zagers (Oldsmar) was just one stroke behind at 234. Zagers, a two-time AAC All-Academic Team member, ranked third on the team this season in rounds of par or better.
Ana Maria Barriga (Neiva, Columbia) carded a round of 74 (+2) on Monday, but was slowed with an injury in round two and eventually replaced with Leonor Medeiros (Palmela, Portugal) in Tuesday’s finale who turned in a stellar round of 70 (-2).
“Leonor carding the lowest score in the final round as a sub was awesome. It’s impressive that all six of our players had a counting score at the conference championship. The legacy that Ashley and Morgan have left on this program will be felt for a long time to come.”
About USF Women’s Golf
The Bulls are in their fourth season under head coach Erika Brennan in 2021-22. USF is among the fastest rising program in the country, as they climbed 75 spots in the national Golfstat rankings following Brennan’s first season. The Bulls won two tournaments in 2018-19 and set several program records, including season scoring average (293.43) and team rounds of par or better (6), and in 2019-20 the Bulls posted a wire-to-wire win at the Old Friends Invitational, marking the program’s third tournament title since spring 2019. USF opened its abbreviated 2020-21 campaign by breaking the program team record for low 54-hole team score (861).
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– #GoBulls –
