Women's Golf | 3/12/2016 9:39:00 PM

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Ariana Macioce and Iben Hvass each placed in the top-40, and the Georgia Southern women's golf team finished 16th at the 3M Augusta Invitational at Forest Hills Golf Club Saturday.

Macioce shot 78-75-74=227 to tie for 37th, and Hvass posted a 79-77-72=228 to tie for 40th.  Ansley Bowman carded a 75-80-80=235, and Taylor Thompson posted 76-80-83=239. Annie Swords shot 80-80-84=244.

Host Augusta (-3) won the tournament, which is annually one of Division I golf's top events, for the first time. Coastal Carolina (+7) was second and Furman finished third (+11).

The Eagles played 18 holes Friday, and the tournament format switched to 36 holes Saturday to beat impending inclement weather coming in Sunday.

The story 
Hvass scored par or better with two birdies on her first 11 holes in the third round and finished with four straight pars for an even 72. The junior rolled in four birdies in the second round, which tied for the team lead with Ansley Bowman. Bowman played the first nine holes of her first round at 1-over en route to posting a team-best 75. Macioce made par on her first five holes in the third round and had consecutive birdies to finish the round. She was 1-under through her first eight holes of the second round. Thompson shot 1-over on her front nine in the first round and finished the day by shooting 1-under in her final four holes.

Quotable from head coach Emily Kuhfeld
"This event was a great opportunity for our team to play against some of the best teams in the country. It was very clear to see what is separating us from them right now, and I think the team learned a ton this week on the few things we need to focus on to improve our scores the most. We are looking forward to continuing our growth and building confidence as we head into the last few events of the regular season. Iben and Ari led the way for us this week on the scoreboard and have a lot to build on for the next event."

Next up
Georgia Southern takes a few weeks off from competition before heading to the Bearcat Spring Classic March 25-27 in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.

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