April 18, 2004

ABILENE, Texas - Hardin-Simmons and McMurry universities will co-host the American Southwest Conference Championships Monday and Tuesday at the Diamondback Golf Course.

The men will play 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday and the women will play 18 holes both days. Both days will begin with a 9 a.m. shotgun start. The men will play at 6,972-yards and the women will play at 5,828 yards. Both will play the course at par-72.

Mary Hardin-Baylor is the four-time defending conference champion and bring in the top team again this year. The Lady Crusaders are ranked second in the nation. UMHb has a 335 round average, followed by McMurry's 350 and Hardin-Simmons' 358.

The Cowgirls will have four freshman and a junior in their lineup, and are led by Kristi Martin, Salem Mitchell and Chandra Hayes. McMurry's Brittany Cary has won three tournaments this spring and is a leading contender for medalist honors. Cary is joined by teammate Amy Morgan as the top two stroke leaders in the conference 77 and 80 per round. The next six best averages belong to UMHB players.

Hardin-Simmons' Chris Phillips is the ASC leader in stroke average on the season at 74.40 . The Cowboys will need strong play from seniors Phillips, Clint Wellhausen and Aaron Shipley in order to win the tournament. They currently rank third in the league with a 306.90 stroke per round average. TLU is tops at 304.30 and Mary Hardin-Baylor is at 306.00. UT-Dallas is the defending champion.

The men's field features five teams ranked in the top 25 in the nation. TLU is 16th, HSU 17th, UMHB 20th, LeTourneau 23rd and McMurry is 24th. Dillon Gooch (UMHB), Alex Seydler (TLU) and Michael Faterkowski (TLU) join the HSU seniors as top contenders for the individual title.