June 12, 2009

HARLECH, Wales -- Rising sophomore Nathalie Mansson's run at the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship ended in the quarterfinals on Friday at the Royal St. David's Golf Club.

The No. 38-seed in the tournament, Mansson lost to No. 19-seed Caroline Masson, of Germany, 3 and 2, on Friday afternoon. Masson just wrapped up her freshman season at Oklahoma State and, like Mansson, earned honorable mention All-America honors from the National Golf Coaches Association.

In her third-round match, Mansson defeated No. 43-seed Marion Ricordeau, of France, 3 and 2, on Friday morning.

The Stockholm, Sweden, native finished the Ladies British Open Amateur match play stages with a 3-1 record after tying for 34th in the two-day qualifying tournament with a total score of 76-75=151 (+5).

The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, Carolota Ciganda and Azahara Munoz, both advanced to the semifinals. The Spanish pair led Arizona State to the national title at the 20009 NCAA Women's Golf Championships last month in Owings Mill, Md.

Ciganda will face No. 12-seed Laura Collin, of England, while Munoz will take on Masson in Saturday morning's semifinals. The finals will be later that afternoon.

Results and further information on the 2009 Ladies British Open Amateur Championship can be found at http://www.lgu.org/.

On Thursday, rising senior Ginny Brown and former Lady Vol Nicole Smith bowed out of 2009 U.S. Women's Open qualifying.

After advancing past the local qualifying stage, Brown and Smith competed at the 36-hole Sectional Qualifier at Carolina Trace Country Club in Sanford, N.C. Brown tied for 23rd with a 73-78=151 (+7) total, while Smith tied for 32nd with a 76-80=156 (+12) total. The top six finishers earned spots in the 2009 U.S. Women's Open at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa., from July 6-12.