Even at last weekend’s Mercedes-Benz

Women’s Championship in Knoxville, Tenn., 16

ranked teams, including the top seven in the

country, could not stop the Georgia golf team,

which finished in second place.

"They played awesome," head coach Beans

Kelly said. "This was huge for our program to

finish second because we played against the top

seven teams in the country and 13 out of the top

25. I think this is a big boost for our program

because in recent years, women’s golf has been

dominated by the teams out west, and that’s a

trend that’s now starting to change."

The Bulldogs’ 909 finish tied them with

No.14 Louisiana State, a team they beat in the

Auburn Tiger Invitational last week by three

shots. The team finished 10 shots behind Duke

(899). Aiding in the victory were freshman

Reilly Rankin and sophomore Shauna Estes,

who finished second and third overall.

"Reilly played very solid and put herself in a

position to win the tournament," Kelly said. "If

it wasn’t for about nine holes, I really believe

she would have found herself standing in the

winner’s circle."

Rankin finished only three shots behind

Duke’s Jenny Chausiriporn. Estes shot an

impressive 219, four shots away from Rankin.

"Shauna made a great comeback," Kelly said.

"She was tied for 29th place at one point, and

then she came all the way back to finish third.

That just shows how mentally tough a player is.

That’s what makes her a great golfer out there."

Bulldogs Laura Henderson and Julia Boros

came within one shot of each other, Henderson

finishing with 237, a score that tied her for

42nd, and Boros finishing tied for 47th place

with 238. Sophomore Shannon Ogg shot 245

and ended the tournament tied for 72nd place.

The Bulldogs return to action at the Lady

Paladin Invitational, Oct. 17-19 in Greenville,

S.C.