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Sept. 21 C-USA Golfers of the Week
Golfers of the Week

	Kristina Merkle, Tulsa

Sept. 21, 2011

IRVING, Texas -

Ricardo Gouveia of UCF and Bosten Miller of Marshall share Conference USA Men’s Golfer of the Week honors are both earned medalist honors at the Adams Cup of Newport and the University of Kentucky Bluegrass Fall Invitational, respectively. ECU’s Julia Strandberg and Tulsa’s Kristina Merkle share the women’s honor this week. Strandberg won the Wild Eggs Cardinal Cup Invitational, continuing her hot start to the season and earning her second straight Women’s Golfer of the Week honor, while Merkle was one of three players under par, placing third, at the Dale McNamara Invitational which featured five top 50 teams based on the final Golfweek/Sagarin and Golfstat rankings from 2010.

Women’s Co-Golfers of the Week

Julia Strandberg, ECU, Sr., Greensboro, N.C.

Strandberg continued her stellar play during her senior season, winning her first collegiate event at the Wild Eggs Cardinal Cup Invitational. In her fourth career start for the Pirates, Strandberg posted a 1-over par 145 (75-50) and helped ECU record a second place finish – their second-straight top-2 finish of the season. She carded a tournament-best 2-under par 70 (36-34) on the final day. To avoid a possible playoff, the Greensboro, N.C. native birdied two of her final three holes to claim medalist honors. She started her final round with a bogey at the par-4 first hole then played the course at 3-under par registering 14 pars and three birdies. In all, Strandberg fired six birdies (three each round) with 23 pars and became the eighth Pirate in school history to win an individual title. The win marked her second-straight Top 3 finish.

Kristina Merkle, Tulsa, Jr. Honolulu, Hawai’i

In the season-opening tournament of 2011, Merkle took home a third-place finish at the Dale McNamara Invitational at The Patriot Golf Club in Owasso, Okla. She surged toward the top of the leaderboard, shooting 6-under par over the final two rounds. She fired a 2-under par 70 in the second round and a 4-under par 68 during a windy third round. Merkle ended the tournament with a 1-under par score of 215, and was one of only three players to finish under par for the tournament. She carded rounds of 77-70-68 for the tournament. This is Merkle’s first Golfer of the Week award.

Men’s Co-Golfers of the Week

Ricardo Gouveia, UCF, So., Almancil, Portugal

In only his second event as a Knight, Gouveia took medalist honors and led UCF to the team title at the Adams Cup of Newport in Rhode Island. The sophomore, who spent his freshman campaign at Lynn, finished the 19-team event at 11-under 204. He fired a 6-under 66 during the final round, helping the Knights, who are ranked 25^th in Golfweek’s preseason poll, finish first, nine shots ahead of 16^th-ranked and second-place Georgia. Gouveia opened the tournament with a 70 (-2), and then carded a 4-under 68 during the second round. Gouveia has helped the Knights claim team titles in both of their two tournaments this fall. He started the season, and his UCF career, by tying for ninth at the Northern Intercollegiate in Illinois on Sept. 11. This is his first Golfer of the Week honor.

Bosten Miller, Marshall, Sr., Charleston, W.V.

Miller, the senior captain of The Herd posted his sixth consecutive round at par or better, and was the medalist at the University of Kentucky Bluegrass Fall Invitational. He was the only golfer in the field to finish under par. His three day total of 211 strokes ranked first among the 87 individual competitors. Miller's average throughout the six rounds and two matches of 2011 is 69.5. Throughout the most recent competition, Bosten averaged 70.33 strokes. He led The Herd to a fourth place finish at the UK Bluegrass Fall Invitational. This is the first C-USA Golfer of the Week award for Miller.