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C-USA Men's Golf Notebook 3
Merkle of Tulsa and Varner of East Carolina earn Golfer of the Week accolades

	Rob Laird

Sept. 30, 2009

IRVING, Texas - Only five Conference USA men's golf squads were in action this past week, with Tulsa leaving its mark at the ORU Shootout. The Golden Hurricane took fifth place in the 12-team field and the finish marks its second straight top-10 finish. In other action, East Carolina was led by Harold Varner who finished in a fourth-place tie at the VCU Shootout after carding a 217 (72-69-76) helping lead the Pirates to a top-10 finish.

C-USA Golf Notebook 3

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
KRISTINA MERKLE, Tulsa, Fr., (Monalua)
Merkle carded a 2-under par 214 (78-66-70) and finished in second place at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational at Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan, Kan. The freshman broke the women's course record on Monday (Sept. 28), after carding a 6-under par 66. Her efforts helped lead the Golden Hurricane to a first-place finish. This is her first career Athlete of the Week award.

MALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
HAROLD VARNER, East Carolina, So., (Forestview)
Varner finished tied for fourth place at the VCU Shootout after recording a 1-over par 217 (72-69-76). It was the first top-five finish of his career and second top-10 finish. The Gastonia, N.C., native led the Pirates to a share of 10th place in a 14-team field. This marks Varner's first career Athlete of the Week accolade.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Oct. 3-4
UAB at Gary Koch Intercollegiate (Tampa, Fla.)

Oct. 5-6
Houston at Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic (South Bend, Ind.)
Marshall at Xavier Invitational (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Rice and Southern Miss at Squire Creek Invitational (Ruston, La.)
Tulsa at Windon Memorial (Chicago, Ill.)