Feb. 8, 2008

KENNESAW, GA - Hoping to leave behind the cold weather but not the solid play that led them to a solid fall, the Kennesaw State women's golf team is preparing to head south of the border to participate in the Baja Invitational at the Bajamar Resort in Baja, Mexico on February 11th and 12th. The 54-hole tournament, hosted by Northern Illinois, will mark the first time that the Owls have played an event on foreign soil and is the first event of KSU's spring season.

"Obviously the girls are very excited about the opportunity to go to Mexico and compete," said Kennesaw State head coach Rhyll Brinsmead. "The Bajamar Resort is a very nice place to play, and the level of competition should serve as a good way to get the spring started."

The field will be composed of teams from all over the United States, including Atlantic Sun Conference opponent USC Upstate, tournament co-host Southern Mississippi, and the Big Ten's Iowa Hawkeyes. The teams will play 36 holes on Monday followed by 18 holes on Tuesday.

The Owls, who recorded two top ten finishes in four fall events, have grown together exponentially as a team this season and will be looking for their first tournament victory of the season in Mexico.

"We have had really productive practices the last few weeks and our women are really starting to look like a team," added Brinsmead on her team's chemistry. "I will be looking to Laura and Abby to continue to lead us as they did in the fall, but in order for us to win tournaments we have to play well as a whole, which we are very capable of doing."

The team is set to arrive in Baja on Saturday morning and play a practice round on Sunday to prepare for Monday's action. Prior to the practice round, the Owls and the rest of the teams will give a free golf clinic to local orphans as a way to give back to the community.

Live scoring updates of the tournament can be found on www.golfstat.com, while recaps and news on the Owls performance can be found by visiting the Kennesaw State Athletics homepage and clicking on the women's golf link at the top of the page.