Feb. 1, 2013

OXFORD, Miss. – Two Ole Miss women’s golfers, senior Ericka Schneider and freshman Abby Newton, have qualified to play in the 2013 Lady Bulldog Individual Championship Saturday in Athens, Ga.

The Rebel duo was Ole Miss’ top two finishers in the team’s qualifier to play in the Championship. Newton finished first, followed by Schneider.

“This is a great opportunity to play at the University of Georgia’s golf course where our National Championship is going to be played in May,” head coach Michele Drinkard said. “They’ll play two actual rounds there and be able to come home and share what they learned about the course with our team. We are really excited for Abby and Ericka to have this opportunity to be able to play.”

Thirty eight players representing 13 schools will play 36 holes of stroke play on Saturday at the UGA Golf Course, home of the 2013 NCAA Championship. Schneider will tee from the first tee at 7:40 a.m. CT while Newton will tee off from the first tee at 7:50 a.m. CT. The first round will be followed immediately by the second round with the same parings.

Live scoring will not be available for the event but Drinkard will be tweeting updates from her Twitter account, @CoachDrinkard.

“I'm very confident with my game as I played very well this past week and today,” Newton said after practice Wednesday. “I'm looking forward to what this Saturday holds and am ready to compete and represent Ole Miss.”

“Our coach said she has never had a team that came back ready at the start of the spring and as a senior I wanted more than anything for this year to be different,” Schneider said. “I am beyond happy that I have qualified and get to represent the university in this event, as I am with any event. But, this one is a little different than most. It is an individual tournament and is being played on the course where Nationals will be held this year so it will give us a sneak preview of what all our hard work is going towards. I look forward to competing this weekend and starting my last semester of college golf off with a bang!”

Ole Miss will open its spring season Feb. 10-12 at the UCF Challenge in Sorrento, Fla.