LSU women’s golf, soccer teams in action Friday
Soccer team welcomes Florida
ATHENS, Ga. — The LSU women’s golf team returns to action Friday at a familiar event being played in a new time slot as the Lady Tigers take part in the 41st Annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.
The tournament takes on new meaning this year as it will also serve as the NCAA Fall Preview for the 2013 Championships, which will be contested over the par-72, 6,335-yard layout in May.
The 18-team field features LSU, Georgia and defending champion Alabama. The rest of the field includes Auburn, California, Denver, Duke, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Purdue, South Carolina, Southern Cal, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Tulane, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Virginia.
Leading the LSU charge will be Madelene Sagstrom, who is coming off a strong effort last week in the Women’s World Amateur Team championships playing for Sweden. Sagstrom shot even par for the four-day event and finished in 22nd place individually in the 157-player field.
Also in the field for LSU will be Lindsay Gahm, Nadine Dreher and Katrina Hegge. LSU freshman Elise Bradley of Mandeville will make her collegiate debut. Bradley is a multiple Louisiana high school state champion and also has multiple Louisiana Golf Association titles.
“We are happy to have Madelene back with us after her long journey to Turkey,” LSU coach Karen Bahnsen said.
“I know it was a tremendous experience for her, and she played very well in that setting.”
The three-day, 54-hole tournament runs through Sunday.
Soccer
LSU at HOME FOR FLORIDA: Following an unbeaten weekend for the Tigers in their first Southeastern Conference road trip of the season, the LSU returns home Friday to face 16th-ranked Florida at the LSU Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:34 p.m.
The Tigers (5-4-4, 1-3-2 SEC) enter Friday’s contest following a 1-0 shutout at Mississippi State and a 2-2 draw at Georgia.
The Gators (8-3-1, 5-1) enter the contest on a five-game winning streak in SEC play. They are tied with the Missouri for second place in the SEC standings, trailing the Texas A&M by one point.
Florida is ranked No. 16 nationally in this week’s Soccer Times Top 25 poll, while also earning a No. 17 ranking in the Soccer America Top 25 and No. 18 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire Top 25.
The Tigers will host Vanderbilt at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Women’s basketball
FREE ADMISSION to EXHIBITION GAMES ON NOV. 1 and 6: Fans will get a preview when the Lady Tigers host a pair of free admission exhibition games on Nov. 1 and Nov. 6 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
LSU will take on Xavier of Louisiana on Nov. 1, followed by an exhibition against North Alabama on Nov. 6. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.
It marks the second straight year the Lady Tigers face Xavier in an exhibition contest. LSU beat the Gold Nuggets 102-41 last season.
North Alabama, an NCAA Division II school in Florence, Ala., was 15-13 last season and 5-9 in the Gulf South Conference.
The exhibitions will serve as a tune-up for the regular season, which begins 2 p.m. Nov. 11 against Wichita State in the Maravich Center.
Coach Nikki Caldwell begins her second season at LSU after guiding the Lady Tigers to the NCAA tournament’s second round and the Southeastern Conference Tournament championship game. Six letterwinners return from a squad that won 23 games — LSU’s most since 2008 — including senior guard Adrienne Webb.