May 8, 2008

By: Willie T. Smith III Greenville News

Greenville, S.C. -- Stephanie Kenoyer believed she was in first place walking toward the 18th green on the final day of the Southern Conference Women's Golf Tournament.

She didn't want to know for sure.

"I heard someone say, `Here comes the leader,' so I had a feeling," said Kenoyer, a freshman from Lighthouse Point, Fla. "But I didn't really want to know. The 18th hole is a very difficult hole. It is an island -- a green with water all around it."

Blissfully somewhat ignorant, Kenoyer hit the approach shot safely onto the green in position for a birdie.

Then informed that she had a three-shot lead, Kenoyer drained the putt to become the second freshman to claim individual medalist honors at the SoCon tournament.

Furman also won the SoCon team title, which qualified the Paladins for the NCAA East Regional in Athens, Ga., today.

"I think we're in a great position," said junior Blair Lamb. "We haven't been able to get solid scores on the same day. It's been two good scores and two not so good scores. I think we're due for that because we've come very close to it."

Kenoyer and Lamb will be joined by freshman Jaclyn Hilea, a fifth-place finisher at the SoCon championships, and sophomores Corrine Carr (10th place, SoCon) and Ashley Baker.

Every year since the NCAA moved to the regional format in 1993, Furman has made the field. This year the team hopes to finish high enough to advance to the national tournament in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Paladins must first find a way to tame a challenging University of Georgia course that brought them to their knees in a tournament earlier in the season when they finished a combined 80-over par.

"I have never heard anyone say, `I love the University of Georgia golf course,' " Lamb said. "I have friends on their team, and they can't stand it. ... It is not a bad course. It is very tricky. You have to be patient with it."

Kenoyer believes having played the course gives the Paladins an advantage.

"To know where you want to put your golf ball and where you don't want to put your golf ball is a big advantage," she said. "Sometimes if you think it is so hard, it is going to be a little bit harder. But if you just go out there thinking, `I am just going to keep my ball in play and try to hit as many greens as possible,' I think it is do-able."