WGOLF: CAA Championship Gets Underway Friday Morning

The 2016 CAA Women's Golf Championship is set to begin on Friday morning, April 15, at the St. James Plantation Reserve Club in Southport, N.C. The 54-hole tournament will conclude on Sunday afternoon with the winning team earning an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship.

Eight squads will participate in the women's championship on the par 72, 6,006-yard Reserve Club, for the fifth consecutive year. Just four teams have ever won the CAA women's golf championship title - James Madison, Georgia State, UNCW and College of Charleston.

The three-day event begins on Friday at 9:00 a.m. with split tees as the top-six teams begin on the 1st tee while the next two teams will begin on the 10th tee. Saturday's action also begins at 9 a.m. with split tees while Sunday teams will begin play at 8 a.m. also with split tees. The tournament concludes Sunday afternoon with the awards ceremony.

Hofstra is seeded eighth in the eight-team field. Hofstra is led by junior Victoria Snak and sophomore Amanda Bigger. Snak leads the team in scoring average at 82.5, while Bigger is at 83.07. Juniors Jai Ghuman (83.21), Andrea Neilson (83.86) and Jacquie Faldetta (86.09) round out the Pride's entry.

College of Charleston is looking to win its third consecutive championship. The Cougars head into the tournament as the second-ranked team in the CAA and are led by Laura Fuenfstueck, who is ranked second in the CAA with an average 72.96 over 27 rounds. She was the CAA individual champion in 2014 and finished as the runner-up a year ago. Senior Morgan Webber is ninth in the CAA, averaging 75.41 over 27 rounds.

UNCW is ranked at the top of the CAA going into the weekend. The Seahawks are led by seniorsAnnette Lyche and Meghan Theiss who are the fourth- and sixth-ranked golfers this season in the CAA. Lyche is averaging 75.33 while Theiss is averaging 75.48 over 21 rounds this season.

Elon is ranked third in the conference. Pacing the Phoenix are junior Kelsey Badmaev, who won two of her final three tournaments and has the third-best best average in the CAA this season, and sophomore Heather Munro, who is ranked fifth. Last season, Munro led the tournament for two rounds before narrowly being edged in the final round. The Phoenix won two of their final three tournaments of the year and finished in third place five times.

Delaware enters the tournament ranked fourth out of the eight teams in just its fifth season as a NCAA Division I program. The Blue Hens are led defending CAA Individual Champion Andi Slane who had a record-setting performance last season at the Reserve Club. Slane finished the tournament at seven-under, including a five-under final round, both tournament records. Slain's five-under 67 also set the Reserve Club course record.

William & Mary, is ranked fifth in the CAA and is led by Alessandra Liu. The senior is ranked eighth in NCAA Division I with a 71.78 average over 23.0 rounds and has been named CAA Golfer of the Week four times this year. She has won four individual tournaments, tying the William & Mary record.

James Madison is the No. 6 seed heading into Friday. The Dukes are led by sophomores Maddisen Coxand Laura Gomez-Ruiz, who are ranked 10th and 12th in scoring average this season. Towson, which closed out the season by finishing in the top-six in its final three tournaments, is the No. 7 seed. The Tigers are led by senior Krissy Unger and rookie Jenny Buchanan.

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Players Mentioned

Amanda Bigger: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Jacquie Faldetta: 5' 10"; Junior

Jai Ghuman: 5' 3"; Junior

Andrea Neilson: 5' 7"; Junior

Victoria Snak: 5' 7"; Junior

Players Mentioned

Amanda Bigger
: 5' 3"; Sophomore

Jacquie Faldetta
: 5' 10"; Junior

Jai Ghuman
: 5' 3"; Junior

Andrea Neilson
: 5' 7"; Junior

Victoria Snak
: 5' 7"; Junior