Avondale, La. – Paced by a pair of freshmen, Western Carolina women's golf advanced one position for a sixth-place finish at the Green Wave Invitational that concluded Tuesday at the TPC Louisiana. Canadian-born rookie Ella Kozak climbed seven spots to finish in a career-best tie for 18th with classmate Madison Lehr posting her best finish in a tie for 23rd to lead the Catamounts.
 
Kozak carded her career-low round of even-par 72 on Tuesday, countering five bogeys with five birdies to make the climb. The Yorkton, Saskatchewan, product played the front nine at 2-under par with a 2-over score on the back nine to finish her first collegiate three-round event with a score of 225.
 
Lehr slipped 10 spots into a tie for 23rd overall, shooting 7-over par 79 on Tuesday for a two-day score of 229. She charted seven bogeys with 11 pars in the final round.
 
Rounding out WCU's scoring five, senior Elizabeth Lohbauer dropped 14 positions with a final-round score of 81 to finish tied for 27th overall. Lohbauer posted a pair of birdies on Tuesday but struggled with seven holes at bogey-or-higher. A third freshman Annalee Caveney shot 239 to finish 41st, a stroke ahead of junior Sadler Miller in 42nd (240). Caveney posted 13 pars including eight on the front nine, while Miller had a trio of birdies on the back nine on the last day of competition.
 
Playing unattached as an individual, senior Kaitlyn Wingnean finished 46th overall with a score of 252. She charted 11 pars over the final round on Tuesday.
 
South Alabama edged Dallas Baptist by two strokes, 876-to-878, to claim the team championship on the bayou. Troy advanced one spot into the second runner-up spot in third at 883, with host Tulane (890) moving up into fourth and Memphis sliding two rungs into fifth place with a 54-hole score of 901.
 
Jordan Fischer, an individual competitor from LSU, claimed medalist honors by three strokes over a three-way tie for second place. Fischer fired a 5-under par 211 to best Laura Fangmeyer from Troy, DBU's Ella Cheek, and Malia Uyeshiro from South Alabama knotted with 54-hole score of 214.
 
Western Carolina returns to action Sept. 23-24, at the Tot Hill Farm Invitational, hosted by the College of Charleston at the Tot Hill Farm Golf Course in Asheboro, N.C. The 54-hole tournament will be contested over two days with 36 continuous holes on Monday, Sept. 23, with the final 18 holes on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountWGolf).
 
6 – Western Carolina – 310 – 304 – 304 = 918 (+54)
T18 – Ella Kozak – 76-77-72 = 225 (+9)
T23 – Madison Lehr – 77-73-79 = 229 (+13)
T27 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 77-73-81 = 231 (+15)
41 – Annalee Caveney – 80-81-78 = 239 (+23)
42 – Sadler Miller – 80-85-75 = 240 (+24)
46 – Kaitlyn Wingnean (ind.) – 92-80-80 = 252 (+36)