Apr. 2, 2006

Washington, D.C. - After holding sole possession of fourth place after Day One, the Wildcat women golfers couldn't keep up their momentum, but still came away with a quality eighth place finish over the weekend at the Hoya Women's Invitational in Leesburg, Virginia at the beautiful Raspberry Falls Golf and Hunt Club. A total of 15 teams took place in this year's annual event.

Bethune-Cookman used the strength and shooting power of Maria Dunne (Dublin, Ireland) to take home the top 10 finish. Dunne, who finished the weekend event tied for 13th overall, ended with a total of 159, leaving her at +15 over par. Her lowest round came on Saturday when she shot a round third-lowest score of 77. She ended tied aside Emily Balmert (Harvard).

Sophomore Beck Dowell finished tied for 25th on the weekend as she shot a 163 (+19), tied with Brittany Lambertson (St. John's) and Lauren Phillips (Gonzaga).

Host Georgetown University finished as the event champion with a team combined total of 612 (310, 302). Yale (629), Princeton (632), Columbia (637) and Gonzaga (644) rounded out the top 5 teams.

Georgetown's Christy Larrimore was the weekend top finisher with a score of 143 (-1), and the only golfer to register an under-par total. Sharla Cloutier (Princeton), Sara Ovadia (Columbia) and January Romero (Yale) were all tied for second place, individually, with 153 (+9), respectively.

Bethune-Cookman finished with a team combined score of 657 (323, 334). They used four golfers on the weekend, rounded out by freshman Fern Grimshaw and Nikeda Cooks (Los Angeles, Calif.).

Grimshaw totaled 167 (+23), while Cooks finished up with a score of 168 (+24). They each finished tied for 37th and 40th, respectively.

The Wildcats will now get back to the links on Apr. 22-23 when they compete in an event hosted by the Women in Golf Foundation in Atlanta, Ga. The event will take place at the Sugar Creek Golf & Tennis Club.