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The 2007 O'Reilly Ohio Valley Conference Women's Golf Championship will get underway on Monday, April 16 at Drake Creek Golf Club in Ledbetter, Ky. The three-day, 54-hole event will culminate with the crowning of this year's champion on Wednesday afternoon.
The eight OVC institutions that sponsor women's golf - Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Murray State, Samford, Tennessee State and Tennessee Tech - will descend on the area for a practice round on Sunday before beginning play at 8:30 a.m. on Monday.
The event returns to Drake Creek for the second consecutive year; Jacksonville State claimed the 2006 Championship at the course a year ago. Drake Creek was established in 1999 and designed by renowned golf architect Rich Osborne and constructed by Holmes and Company, the same company that built English Turn in New Orleans, Pinehurst National, and Grand Cypress in Orlando among others. Drake Creek is consistently maintained and the 18-hole course features Zoysia fairways and tees, bent grass greens, over 20 acres of water and 38 sand bunkers.
The event is in the Paducah, Ky. area for the fifth time in the past six years; the 2005 event was held in Decatur, Ala.
Jacksonville State, who claimed its second straight title a year ago, topped Eastern Kentucky by five strokes in 2006 to win the championship. The Gamecocks' Shanelle Howell claimed the individual medalist title, topping teammate Mercedes Huarte and EKU's Kelli Warner by a single stroke.
Prior to JSU's run of titles, Murray State claimed three straight championships twice in a period of eight years (1997-99 and 2002-04). Sandwiched in-between the Lady Racers' runs were back-to-back championships by Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles also claimed the first two OVC Women's Golf Championships (1994 and 1994) while Eastern Kentucky (1996) has also come away the champion at the event.
Among the favorites for this year's championship is the defending champion Jacksonville State, who has six of the OVC's top 10 golfers by stroke average entering the event. JSU freshman Manuela Tarazona is the current overall leader, averaging 75.1 strokes per round this season. She will compete against fellow freshman Staci Lynch of Austin Peay, who is just 0.8 of a stroke behind Tarazona in the OVC race. Lynch has won a pair of OVC Golfer of the Week honors this season.
Other non-JSU golfers in the top 10 in stroke average include Samford freshman Katelyn Stainer (5th, 77.7), Murray State freshman Andrea Downer (8th, 78.2) and Eastern Illinois senior Chelsea Bach (10th, 78.5).
Hole-by-hole live results from each day of the championship can be accessed through links at OVCSports.com.