At their final tournament of the fall season, The University of Memphis women's golf team faced conditions they haven't faced so far this year.
The Edwin Watts/ Palmetto Intercollegiate, held in Kiawah Island, S.C., featured a different tournament format from what the Lady Tigers were used to, with water on 17 of the 18 holes and alligators. That's right - alligators on the course.
Although the alligators didn't cause any problems, Memphis golfers did find it tough to play consistent throughout the weekend. The team finished 16th out of 19 teams.
Junior Stacey Tate, consistently one of the best players on the team, had trouble finding her stroke during the two-day tournament.
"I struggled the entire weekend," said Tate, who shot the low round on the team with a 76 in the third round. Tate finished 24-over par with a final score of 240.
The format for the tournament was 27 holes per day. Competitors played 18 holes for the first round and then finished the day with the first nine holes of the second round.
The second day of action had players finish their second round with nine holes and 18 for the third and final round.
"It was hard to get a game going with only nine holes," Tate said.
A bright spot in the tournament for the Lady Tigers was freshman Rachel Larson, who shot the team's tournament low with a score of 22-over par and the only Memphis player not to go over 80 for a single round.
Tate said Larson has struggled the whole season, but with the pressure she put on herself, Larson played her best tournament of the fall season.
"She's a great player," Tate said. "She just has to believe it.
"Unfortunately it was the end of the season and she couldn't keep going at it."
Junior Cameron Barber, while battling neck and shoulder injuries, finished with the third-best score on the team with a 245, 29-over par.
With winter ahead, Barber and the team will have time to rest, work out and recover from any injuries and prepare for the spring season, which concludes with the Conference USA tournament.
"The last tournament was real tough," Barber said, citing that players are ready for a break after the fall season that started Sept. 18 and spanned four tournaments.
Barber said the winter will be used for regrouping and working out to get strength back lost during the season.
In the three previous tournaments Memphis finished ninth out of 16, seventh out of 15 and tied for 13th place out of 17.
