ATLANTA--The Georgia State women's golf team plays its second event of the spring as the Panthers travel to the Hurricane Invitational, hosted by the University of Miami Monday and Tuesday at the Deering Bay Yacht and County Club.
The Panthers, ranked No. 70 in the Golfweek rankings, look to improve on their 17th place finish at last month's UCF Challenge.
"We have regrouped and spent some time focusing on our weaknesses, which is the short game for most of our players," said Cathy Mant, now in her 12th season at Georgia State. "I'm anxious to see how much improvement we can show."
The field for the Hurricane Invitational includes several teams ranked ahead of Georgia State, led by No. 21 Ohio State and No. 54 Michigan.
"It's another opportunity for us to make statement, and it's really important for us to play more consistent golf than we did in our last event," said Mant.
Georgia State's Charlotte Lorentzen is the top-ranked individual in the field, currently standing at No. 38 in the Golfweek rankings. A native of Soroe, Denmark, and the two-time conference Player of the Year, already has two tournament titles and three other Top 15 finishes in five events in 2011-12. Earlier this week, she was named CAA Golfer of the Month for February.
Following Lorentzen in the GSU lineup is another talented Charlotte, senior Charlotte Guilleux of St. Maur de Fosses, France, the reigning Colonial Athletic Association champion.
The remainder of Georgia State's lineup is talented but lacks experience. Freshman Lauren Court (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and sophomore Laura Sanchez (Bogota, Colombia) and Solveig Helgesen (Hagavik, Norway) round out the Panther quintet.
The 54-hole event will be spread over two days, with 36 holes on Monday, followed by 18 holes Tuesday.
"Because we are on spring break this week, we'll have the opportunity to go down a little early and get in some practice rounds," said Mant. "One challenge we have on this course is dealing with the Bermuda greens, so that extra practice will be important."
Georgia State last played in the Hurricane Invitational in 2009-10, when the Panthers finished second at Don Shula's Golf Resort. Lorentzen, then a sophomore and the only current Panther to compete in that event, placed 17th.
Living scoring for the Hurricane Invitational will be available at Golfstat.com
--30--
