JONESBORO, Ark. – With three Bears in the top-20 finishers, the Central Arkansas women's golf team edged out a one-stroke win at the Lady Red Wolves Classic. Beginning the day in second, Central Arkansas took advantage of a sluggish round from Louisiana-Monroe, vaulting into the team's first win of the season.

"We're excited about this win! It's always great to win in state, the competition was strong this week, and we battled," Head coach Natasha Vincent said of the win. "The team has had a strong focus and work ethic since we returned in August."
 
Elin Kumlin led the way for the Bears, finishing in fourth place after capping a 1-over 73 third round. The senior played her way to a 3-under 213, taking home her first top-five finish of the season. Madison Holmes saw her spot in the standings soar after round three, firing a 2-under 70 to move up 12 spots into ninth place. Holmes had just one bogey in the third round, while submitting three birdies to get under par.
 
Tania Nunez stayed in the top-15 on the second day of golf, placing 11^th after rounding out with an even 216 for the event. Pim-orn Thitisup also saw a nice jump on the last day, landing nine spots higher than yesterday's finish in 21^st. Thitisup birdied three of her first five, providing herself with enough momentum through the first half of the course to make the leap before the end.
 
Playing as individuals, Pear Rittawee and Camila Moreno both saw improvements in the third round. Rittawee saw the biggest improvement by a Bear, climbing 16 places in the final round by way of a 2-over 74. The Thailand native played a 1-under on the back nine, catapulting herself up the rankings before the day was done. Moreno also moved up in the rankings after a 3-over 75 on the final 18 holes, finishing four holes with birdies on Tuesday.
 
Valeria Ramirez capped the event with a birdie on her second-last hole, rounding out her score at 11-over 227. The freshman tallied eight birdies through three rounds, including three-straight on holes one through three in round two. Tanja Csaszar, playing as an individual, finished the Lady Red Wolves Classic at 22 strokes over par at a 238. The junior played eight birdies of her own for her 54 holes.
 
Central Arkansas took first place for the first time since last season, when the Bears won the Little Rock Golf Classic last October. The Bears edged out the hosting Red Wolves by a stroke, in part by being a combined 14 strokes under par on par 5s, the second-best score among the field. Behind Arkansas State was yesterday's leader, Louisiana-Monroe, who finished the day +18 to drop out of first place.
 
Individually, Arkansas State's Olivia Schmidt took home first place, with Memphis' Tilly Garfoot in second place and A-State's Elise Schultz in third. Central Arkansas was the only team to have three top-15 finishers.

"Our players are meeting goals, setting and breaking personal and team records, it's a great experience to coach and watch these ladies prepare and compete," Vincent added. "Looking forward to another opportunity next week in the Bahamas!"
 
The Bears will hit the tee box again over the weekend of October 21^st, as the team travels to the Bahamas to take place in the White Sands Invitational, hosted by Little Rock.