POOLER, GA:  The 11th ranked Texas Wesleyan University women's golf team finished off the 22nd NAIA National Championship with a second round card of 301 at Savannah Quarters Country Club on Friday.  The Rams finished in a tie for fourth amongst 27 teams after rain shortened the tournament from a scheduled 72 holes to just 36.
 
Delays for rain and lighting caused the first and second rounds to take two days each.  The Rams were tied for 10th after an opening round 314.  On Thursday, they made a charge.  The Rams played the back nine to begin the second round Thursday morning and had pulled to within a shot of the lead before play was suspended by inclement weather.
 
Friday, the Lady Rams completed that second round and matched the fourth best round in the young history of the program at 301.  That was enough to hold onto fourth in the tournament.
 
"I'm so proud of these girls and what they accomplished this year," commented head coach Kevin Millikan.  "This was a tough tournament with all the delays and weather related issues, and they did a great job of staying composed and handling adversity.  To go from a new startup to a top-five program in only four years is a real testament to how hard these girls have worked."
 
Jacey Patton led the way for the Rams.  Her second round of 2-under par (70) matched the third best individual round in program history and the best by a Lady Ram at the National Championship.  Patton notched birdies on No. 11 and No. 2 on a very clean card. Overall she finished tied for 11th at +7, placing herself on the All-Tournament team dn marking the best individual finish in two National Championship appearances for the Texas Wesleyan program.
 
Maisy Turner was two shots further back in a tie for 26th while Rachel Zastoupil tied for 30th at +10, and Alex Schies tied for 47th at 157.  Stephanie Myers shot 176 and tied for 118th.
 
Kaitlyn Riley of the University of Cumberlands was the individual medalist at -4 (140).  Her second round 68 matched the Championship's 18-hole record (last accomplished by Jessica Schiele in 2013).
 
Keiser University took its second consecutive National Championship (third overall), riding a second round 293 to a total of 599 through 36 holes.  Their card of 293 marked the lowest round at the Championship in the last five years.  At +23, they were 11 shots better than William Woods and SCAD-Savannah who tied for second. 
 
The Lady Rams (+39, 615) tied with Cumberlands and SCAD-Atlanta.  Fellow Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) members Oklahoma City (616) and Wayland Baptist (625) finished 7th and tied for 11th respectively.
 
In 10 tournaments this season, the Lady Rams notched 9 top-10 finishes, 6 top-5's, and a pair of runner-up finishes.  They placed third in the SAC, while sophomore Alex Schies was named SAC Player of the Year for the second year in a row and Elena Sinde Romero was named SAC Freshman of the Year.
 
Fin.  Player            Scores
T11   Jacey Patton      81  70  151
T26   Maisy Turner      77  76  153
T30   Rachel Zastoupil  77  77  154
T47   Alex Schies       79  78  157
T118  Stephanie Myers   87  89  176
T4    Texas Wesleyan    314 301 615
 
Ramblings
 
- In just four seasons, the Texas Wesleyan women's golf program has made two appearances in the NAIA National Championship.  They finished 9th in last year's championship.  The program has been rated in the top-25 in 18 consecutive NAIA Coaches' Polls (beginning November 8, 2013).
 
- Seniors Stephanie Myers, Rachel Zastoupil, and Jessica Liptak were all members of the inaugural Texas Wesleyan team in 2012-13 and have been integral to the program's quick success.
 
- The Lady Rams have played six rounds in NAIA National Championship competition.  This year's second round 301 was their best performance, while Patton's card of 70 is the program's lowest individual round at the Championship.