The Look Of A Champion - Folke Wins OVC - Murray State University Athletics

Monday, April 18

Owens Crossing, Ala.

Murray State

Ohio Valley Conference

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

The Look Of A Champion - Folke Wins OVC

4/20/2016 6:24:00 PM | Women's Golf

Live Coverage Links Game Notes (.pdf)

Final Results I Photo Gallery I OVC Release I Hampton Cove

Murray State sophomore Moa Folke won the Racers' seventh medalist title at the Ohio Valley Conference Women's Golf Championship at Hampton Cove Golf Club in Owens Crossing, Alabama.

Folke, from Tranas, Sweden, turned in a gutsy final round 77 to finish with a 219 total and a three-shot win over Tennessee Tech's Allyson Dunn and Anna Gleixner of Eastern Kentucky who finished at 222.

Folke's scores of 71-71-77=219 made her the first MSU winner since Delaney Howson in 2014.

The day saw increasing tension as the round played out on a windy afternoon. Folke held it together on the Highland's course with 10 pars and a pair of birdies. Her third shot on the final hole out of high grass enabled her to avoid a possible big number.

"I feel great, but it's unreal right now," said Folke. "It was a bit of struggle because I was really nervous. But I pulled it together and it turned out to be enough. The first two days I played great. This gives me some good confidence going home to play in the summer, I'll be back in the fall."

Murray State Head Coach Velvet Milkman spoke to the common thread that binds all her champions in the last 23 years.

"They have the heart of a champion with toughness and desire to win and when you have that type of person that you can coach, the sky is the limit," she said. "They all have high character and are really good people and that also wins."

The Racers finished sixth as a team with scores of 304-310-313=927.

Other MSU scores and finishes included Sydney Trimble in 12^th place with scores of 82-71-76=229 and Abbi Stamper with scores of 74-84-78=236 and a spot in 24^th place. Nadine Innes was in 38^th place with rounds of 80-84-82=246 and Anna Moore placed 41^st with rounds of 79-89-86=254.

Eastern Kentucky won the title wire-to-wire with scores of 293-294-301=888. Tennessee Tech was runner-up at 906 and Jacksonville State placed third at 911. Morehead State was fourth place at 918 and Austin Peay nipped the Racers (927) for fifth place at 925. The Rest of the field included Belmont (947), SIUE 965, Eastern Illinois (1002) and Tennessee State (1072).

Tournament Notes
Folke, a sophomore, becomes the seventh OVC medalist for the Racers in the 23 times the conference tournament has been played.
Folke joins past MSU winners: Jenny Daag (1998 & 1999), Cuyler Hedley (2003), Lee Anne Pace (2004), Nikki Orazine (2005), and Delaney Howson (2014).
Folke was second in the field with 11 birdies and was third in pars with 36 in the 54 hole event.

This is Folke's second win as a Racer after taking the Jan Weaver Invitational (April 9) at Miller Memorial GC in Murray, Ky.

Senior Abbie Stamper competed in her final round as a Racer today. She turned in a finish of 24th place. From Framkfort, Ky., Stamper played in the OVC Championship in all four of her seasons at MSU and had a best finish of fifth place in 2014 as she helped the Racers to the title. Here are Stamper's career scores and finishes at the OVC Championship.

2013 - 86-80-72=238, 22^nd Place, GreyStone Golf Club -- Dickson, Tenn.
2014 - 76-73-80=229, 5^thPlace, The Shoals, Muscle Shoals, Ala.
2015 – 78-74-77=229, 9^th Place, Hampton Cove - Owens Cross Roads, Ala.
2016 – 74-84-78=236, 24^th Place, Hampton Cove - Owens Cross Roads, Ala.
Stroke Avg: 77.6

MSU finished sixth this week and is holding at an OVC best with nine team titles. Those occurred in 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, and 2014. Coach Velvet Milkman has nine matching OVC Coach of the Year honors.

Hampton Cove played to a par-72 (36-36) and to a length of 6,050 yards. The OVC is schedule to come back here in 2017 for the women's event.

This is the 23rd OVC Women's Golf Championship. The first was played was played in 1994 at Arlington Golf Club in Richmond, Ky.