ATHENS, Ga. — In yet another strong field and the toughest to date, the High Point University women's golf team finished fourth of a 16-team Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic after three days and 54 holes of play at the University of Georgia Golf Club, which concluded on Monday. Anna Howerton and Makayla Grubb carded top-20 placements to lead the Panthers.

High Point (+22) was two shots from No. 42 Indiana (+20), while besting two Power 4 teams in No. 56 Alabama (+25) and No. 68 Penn State (+28). Rutgers (+14) finished second and host Georgia (+14) won the tournament on its home course.

Head Coach Lyndsey Hunnell: "This week we really showed some big names who High Point University Women's Golf is! We had a great opening round to start off the tournament. Unfortunately, our second round we started on the hardest 3-hole stretch on the course, which I think shook up the team a little to begin their rounds. However, they learned from their mistakes and came back today to climb the leaderboard again. Fourth place has been our worst finish this season, and we did that in our toughest field to date. It was great to see our school's name amongst numerous Power 4 schools. It was also awesome to see how deep this team is. Everyone's scores contributed at least twice to the team's score which most teams can't say. This group is special and I can't wait to see what they do next!"

Site: Athens, Ga.
Course: University of Georgia Golf Club 
Par/Yardage: 72/6217
 
HPU Top Finishers: Makayla Grubb (T16) — 73, 79, 70 (222) +6   
                                  Anna Howerton (T16) — 68, 76, 78 (222) +6
                               
HPU Team Finish: 4 of 16 teams — 290, 306, 290 (886) +22
 
Panther Placement:
T16 Makayla Grubb +6 (73, 79, 70) 222
T16 Anna Howerton +6 (68, 76, 78) 222
T21 Ella Perna +8 (74, 76, 74) 224
T21 Eva Lye +8 (75, 77, 72) 224
T60 Anais Arafi +16 (81, 77, 74) 232
 
For the second straight tournament, Howerton opened play with a 4-under-68 in the first round en route to a top-20 finish. The junior made 36 pars, birded five holes while sinking her first collegiate eagle on her first hole with a hole-out from 155 yards.

Grubb saved her best round for last as the freshman play a bogey-free round three, shooting a 2-under-par 70 to finish inside the top 20. Grubb made six birdies and parred 36 holes. Perna had a pair of round of 2-over-par 74s, coming in the first and third round, to finish tied for 21st. The senior parred 32 holes and carded eight birdies.

Eva Lye finished right outside the top-20 alongside Perna. The freshman saw her best round come on Monday, where she carded an even 72 round and made four of her seven birdies. Lye parred 34 holes alike Arafi, who made four birdies and improved each day. The sophomore shot a 2-over-par 74 in round three to finish the tournament strong in 60th.

Next Up: The Panthers finish the regular season at the Terrapin Invitational, hosted by the University of Maryland, on April 5-6 in College Park, Md.