April 17, 2007
2007 SoCon Championship 
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. - Rallying from down five strokes after the opening round, Western Carolina carded a second-day total 292 to edge Furman and first-round leader, College of Charleston, en route to winning the 2007 Southern Conference Women's Golf Championship at the 6,044-yard Patriots Point Golf Links.
With the victory, Western Carolina receives the SoCon's automatic bid to the NCAA Women's Golf Championships, with regional competitions slated for May 10-12.
"A lot of people doubted whether or not this team could win the conference, but they really pulled together and shot lights out today in less than desirable conditions," said WCU head coach Steve Lott who guided the Catamounts to their second women's golf title all-time.
Furman shot 294 on Tuesday to finish in a two-way tie with Charleston (307-301=608), with UNC Greensboro (614) and Elon (624) rounding out the top five.
Battling windy conditions that plagued the event and forced its reduction from 54 to 36 holes, WCU junior Kandy Carland and Furman's Blair Lamb both recorded rounds of 71 on Tuesday to tie for the individual medal with a total of 148. The two competed in a playoff, starting at Hole 1 which both shot par. Lamb then shot a par on the second hole with Carland shooting a bogey to give Lamb the individual title. Carland's runner-up finish overall marked her best-ever showing at the annual event, improving upon last season's fifth-place performance.
Junior Malin Fryk, who shot the low-round on Tuesday with a 70, finished tied for third with a two-day total of 149, with first-round leader, freshman Desiree Karlsson, finishing tied for seventh (76-75=151). Senior Bianca Melone shaved two strokes off her opening round total to finish tied for 18th with freshman teammate, Elin Mickelsson, who trimmed six strokes off to shoot 76 in the final round.
By virtue of their top finishes, Carland and Fryk were additionally named to the all-tournament team on Tuesday.
Western's team four-over-par round marked the program's second-lowest round at the conference championship, one stroke above a 291 carded in last season's second round that resulted in the Catamounts finishing as the runner-up to CofC. The final day tally also tied the fifth-lowest round in school-history, while the two-day total of 604 tied for ninth all-time.
In conjunction with the final round of the conference championship, the league also announced its 2007 All-Southern Conference teams. Headlining the honorary squad were a conference-best three players from Western as Melone, Fryk and Karlsson were all three tabbed by the league's head coaches, with the latter, Karlsson, garnering SoCon Freshman of the Year accolades. The Ljunghusen, Sweden, native joins the likes of Line Cordes (2002) and Brandy Andersen (2003) to earn the top rookie honors.
Western will now await word on its destination in the 26th-annual NCAA Women's Golf Championships, which is scheduled to be announced on NCAASports.com on April 30.
2007 Women's Golf All-Southern Conference
Steffie Kirchmayr, College of Charleston
Megan Miller, College of Charleston
Danielle Mills, Elon
Samantha Widmer, Elon
Blair Lamb, Furman
Kathleen Ekey, Furman
Ashley Mylton, UNC Greensboro
Malin Fryk, Western Carolina
Desiree Karlsson, Western Carolina
Bianca Melone, Western Carolina
Erin Wells, Wofford
Coach of the Year: Chris Dockrill, Elon
Freshman of the Year: Desiree Karlsson, Western Carolina
Player of the Year: Steffi Kirchmayr, College of Charleston
2007 SoCon Women's Golf Championship
School Scores
1 Western Carolina 312 292 604 + 28
2 Furman 314 294 608 + 32
Coll. of Charleston 307 301 608 + 32
4 UNC Greensboro 317 297 614 + 38
5 Elon University 322 302 624 + 48
6 Appalachian State 333 312 645 + 69
7 Wofford College 338 315 653 + 77
8 The Citadel 388 384 772 +196
1 Western Carolina 312 292 604
2 Kandy Carland 77 71 148
T 3 Malin Fryk 79 70 149
T 7 Desiree Karlsson 76 75 151
T 18 Bianca Melone 80 78 158
T 18 Elin Mickelsson 82 76 158
