April 23, 2010
Defending Big 12 individual champion Ashley Freeman and her Texas A&M women's golf teammates will battle at the 2010 Big 12 Championships Friday through Sunday at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, Okla.
The No. 24 Aggies will tee off on Friday at 8:50 a.m. and are paired with two-time defending champion Oklahoma State and Texas. The 54-hole competition features 18 holes of golf each day.
“Playing with Oklahoma State and Texas on Friday is great for us,” Aggie women's golf coach Trelle McCombs said. “We know those two teams will push us to play at a higher level. It will be an exciting challenge for us. As I've told the girls all season, if we take care of our business and not worry about what everyone else is doing, then we will be very competitive.”
Freeman, a senior from Belleville, Ill., is back to defend her 2009 Big 12 individual title. Last year, Freeman shot rounds of 72-73-80 and was tied with Oklahoma's Kendall Dye after 54 holes. Freeman emerged victorious with a birdie on the second playoff hole. Freeman has been the Aggies' top individual finisher in the last two tournaments, and carries a 74.77 scoring average into the Big 12 Championships.
“Ashley is in a great state of mind to defend her title this week, but I think she will have some teammates that would like to be in that winner's circle too,” McCombs said. “She has done all the things she needs to do to be ready.”
Joining Freeman in the Aggies' lineup is senior Julia Boland (72.46 scoring average), junior Sarah Beth Davis (75.41) and freshman Chloe Garner (77.58).
The Aggies have won three tournaments in 2009-10 – the Mo-Morial in College Station, the Challenge at Onion Creek in Austin and the UCF Challenge in Florida. A&M has received individual victories from Boland and Davis at the Mo-Morial, Boland at the Challenge at Onion Creek and UCF Challenge and Zwartynski at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational.