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Welch Posts Fifth Place Finish At NCAA Championships
May 23, 2003
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Buoyed by a final round 2-over-par 74, Washington State sophomore Kim Welch finished fifth at the NCAA Women's Division I Golf Championships at the Kampen Golf Course of the Birck Boilermaker Complex, Friday.
As a result of her top five effort at the national championships, Welch earned All-America accolades, the first WSU player to garner such an honor.
Welch finished the tournament at 11-over-par 299, two shots shy of USC's Mikaela Parmlid's tournament best score of 9-over 287. Parmlid defeated Florida's Andrea Vander Lende on the first playoff hole to capture the individual title.
Beginning her final round at 8:40 a.m., on the 10th hole under overcast skies, Welch posted consecutive birdies on 13 and 14 to move to 7-over. The Sacramento, Calif. native recorded five consecutive bogeys at the mid-point of her round but rebounded with birdies on 4 and 6 before ending her day with a bogey on 9.
Maria Kostina tallied her second consecutive round in the 70s with a 79 in the final 18 holes. Jay-Lee Longbottom (80), Stephanie Parsley (81) and Ashleigh Gilhuly (88) completed the Cougar contingent.
As a team, WSU posted a score of 1288 to finish 23rd, three shots ahead of Wisconsin. Southern California won the team championship by 15 strokes to take home the school's first NCAA Golf Title. The Women of Troy shot a 296 in the final round (1197 total). Pepperdine finished second with a score of 1212 and Texas followed with 1213.
Quotes
Kim Welch (2-over-par (74) to finish at 11-over-par 299)
(on her round) "I think I played okay except for the middle portion of the round. I bogeyed five holes in a row so I had to fight back from that with seven holes to play."
(on if she exceeded her expectations) "Honestly, I didn't think about it. I didn't have any expectations coming in so I didn't meet or exceed them."
(on the significance her performance holds for her) "It just shows me that I can play with the best out here. I'm excited for the next two years because we are so young."
(on what the NCAA experience means for the team) "Hopefully, we became more comfortable playing with bigger name schools and not being so intimidated by them."
Coach Walt Williams (on his overall assessment of the Cougars' performance in the championship) "We didn't play particularly well outside of Kim. We didn't play great but it was our first time at the national championship. It was an experience that will pay off down the road for us and I look forward to the future with this team. I am awfully proud of them for getting here and to beat somebody when we were seeded last in the field. I'm not disappointed at all. It was a lot of fun. We had a great experience and it was great exposure for us to get to play with some of these teams."
(on how significant Welch's performances was) "I think it was awesome. She is an All-American because of it, which is unbelievable. Washington State has had only half a dozen All-Pac-10 players. We certainly never had an All-American. Kim is helping us raise our program to another level. It's fun to see. It's exciting for her and exciting for us too."
NCAA Championships
WSU Results:
Team Results:
Top Five Individuals:
*Won on first playoff hole.
 
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