April 19, 2009

SAN MARCOS - The Texas State women's golf team will look to defend its 2008 championship title and repeat history next week when they travel to Kinder, Louisiana to compete in the 2009 Southland Conference golf championship. The three-day event will be held at the familiar Koasati Pines Golf Course where the Bobcats claimed its first spring title this season back in February.

Texas State will enter the tournament as the number one overall seed and will be paired with the Lamar Cardinals. The winner of the SLC Championship will earn an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA tournament.

"We are very excited to travel back to Kinder and hopefully defend our title," said head coach Mike Akers. "We need to take care of business and play well for three rounds."

The last time out on the Koasati Course, the team played well for three rounds and Bobcat newcomer Sydney Liles claimed the individual first-place finish with a three-round score of 222. The mark tied the best individual tournament score ever shot at the course.

Liles currently leads the team with a 77.11 stroke average and has two Top-10 finishes this season.

Joining Liles in the Bobcat line-up is 2008 All-SLC second team selection Caitlin Bliss, Amy Glazier, Gabby De Reuck and Adin Stromgren.

As a team, Texas State has claimed three first-place finishes and has placed and individual in the Top-10 in five of its nine tournaments this season.

"The team has been working hard and looks good in practice," added Akers. "I feel anyone of them could claim the individual title."

The Bobcats will compete against Central Arkansas, Lamar, McNeese State, Nicholls, Sam Houston, UTSA and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. UCA is not ineligible to advance to the NCAA tournament as they are still in the transition period from Division II to Division I competition.