Sports > September 20, 2007

By Donovan Carberry | Staff writer

The women’s golf team, ranked 11th nationally in preseason, opened its season Sept. 14-16 with the Mason Rudolph Championship.

The team placed 11th in the competition hosted by Vanderbilt University.

Wake competed against 13 other nationally ranked teams, including ACC rival and preseason No. 1 Duke.

The Blue Devils were upset by consistent powerhouse UCLA, who captured the championship with the only score under par.

Among the teams that placed ahead of the Demon Deacons were Arizona State, the second place team, and Duke, which held on for third.

Other teams placing ahead of Wake were regional rivals Georgia, Auburn and Florida.

Duke and Wake, who last year were the first and second place finishers in the ACC championship, were the only two teams from that conference to compete in last weekends tourney.

The team fell slightly this year. Last September they were able to place 7th at Mason Rudolph.

The Deacons competed well individually, with sophomore Dolores White tying for 16th place individually.

That was the same place she tied for last year at Mason Rudolph.

Senior Laura Crawford also shot well, tying for 28th place.

White was 4 over par and Crawford shot 5 over.

Freshman Natalie Sheary struggled initially.

She shot a combined 14 over par on the first two days of competition.

However, she ended the tournament with the team’s best single individual score: a 72, good for par.

Senior Jordan Craig, a 2005 transfer from the University of Texas, completed Wake’s squad at the tournament.

She shot 19 over par, struggling particularly on the second day of competition when she went 10 over par.

The team will start its competition with the NCAA Fall Preview in Albuquerque, N.M.

The fall preview will allow the Deacons a rematch with practically every team that placed ahead of them at the Mason Rudolph Championship.

The tournament will begin Sept. 24.

The Deacs will then travel to to the Lady Tar Heel tournament Oct. 5-7 to face ACC rival UNC-Chapel Hill and other opponents.