2002 GA-FL Women’s Team Matches

Florida Defeats Georgia at Annual Women's Team Matches

VERO BEACH, Fla. - The Florida team held off Georgia to win 30-24 in the annual Georgia-Florida Women's Team Matches, which was held at the Grand Harbor Club's River Course, August 15-16. Florida started the day with an eight-point lead after the opening four-ball matches and finished six ahead after winning the last two of 12 singles matches. Each match was worth three points.

Georgia mounted a comeback behind the superior play of Shannon Silvernail of Macon, Laura Coble of Augusta and Diana Ramage of Fayetteville, who each picked up three points as they won their matches handily and got Georgia back in the competition. Auburn's Kingsley Barrett of Gainesville also contributed, collecting 2 ½ points, and Newnan High senior Jean Reynolds won two more. Georgia's rally fell short though, as five points in the final two matches went to Florida.

Charlotte Grant of Greensboro, who teamed up with Reynolds for three points the day before, lost a 2-up lead on the front nine, ceding five holes on the back to Terrell Italiano of Tampa. Florida's Taffy Brower of Boynton Beach bested Patti Huxford of Cumming 3-0 to seal their victory.

The opening round consisted of six four-ball matches in a Nassau format, which awards one point to the winner of each of the nines as well as one point for the overall match. The final round featured 12 singles matches using the same scoring format.

Florida's win snaps a three-year losing streak. Georgia won last year with a convincing 36 ½ - 17 ½ victory at The Farm in Rocky Face, Ga. This was the 22nd playing of the Georgia-Florida Women's Team Matches, which brings together the top women amateur golfers in the two neighboring states. The team members are selected by their state associations based on their performance in recent events. Florida leads the overall series 12-10.

Final Points: Florida 30, Georgia 24

Second Round Points: Georgia 19, Florida 17
Shannon Silvernail (Ga.) def. Sarah J. Phillips (Fla.), 3-0
Barbara Lilley (Fla.) def. Summer Sirmons (Ga.), 2-1
Heather Wrede (Fla.) def. Whitney Christie (Ga.), 2 ½ - ½
Laura Coble (Ga.) def. Karen Greenway (Fla.), 3-0
Kim Goedecke (Fla.) def. Leslie Stubblefield (Ga.), 2 ½ - ½
Diana Ramage (Ga.) def. Sarah A. Phillips (Fla.), 3-0
Claudeen Lindberg (Ga.) vs. Nancy Smith (Fla.), 1 ½ - 1 ½
Kathy Schaefer (Fla.) def. Ginette Spinucci (Ga.), 2-1
Kingsley Barrett (Ga.) def. Mary Haynak (Fla.), 2 ½ - ½
Jean Reynolds (Ga.) def. Julie Garner (Fla.), 2-1
Terrell Italiano (Fla.) def. Charlotte Grant (Ga.), 2-1
Taffy Brower (Fla.) def. Patti Huxford (Ga.), 3-0

First Round Points: Florida 13, Georgia 5
Whitney Christie and Summer Sirmons (Ga.) vs. Julie Garner and Kim Goedecke (Fla.), 1 ½ -1 ½
Charlotte Grant and Jean Reynolds (Ga.) def. Sarah A. Phillips and Heather Wrede (Fla.), 2-1
Mary Haynak and Barbara Lilley (Fla.) def. Diana Ramage and Leslie Stubblefield (Ga.), 3-0
Terrell Italiano and Karen Greenway (Fla.) def. Patti Huxford and Shannon Silvernail (Ga.), 2 ½ -½
Taffy Brower and Sarah J. Phillips (Fla.) def. Laura Coble and Kingsley Barrett (Ga.), 2-1
Kathy Schaefer and Nancy Smith (Fla.) def. Ginette Spinucci and Claudeen Lindberg (Ga.), 3-0