WILMINGTON, NC--The Winthrop women's golf team got off to a slow start in the 54-hole UNCW Lady Seahawk Classic and could never make up any ground as it finished eighth in the nine-team tournament that was concluded on Tuesday at the River Landing Golf Course.

The Lady Eagles finished with a 980 total on the 6,012-yard par 72 course.  They opened with a 320 on Sunday and followed that with rounds of 324 and 336 to finish 65 shots behind tourney champion UNC Wilmington.  Tuesday's final round was played under sunny, breezy conditions.

Winthrop was led by sophomore Katie Bolling who tied for 20th place in medal play with a 239 (79-78-82).  Senior Rachel Smith fired a 241 to tie for 23rd place.  she had rounds of 81-78-82.  Next for the Lady Eagles was sophomore Kayla Cline in 37th place with a 247 (79-83-85).  Freshman Danielle Dunnagan turned in the fourth best score for the Lady Eagles and 44th overall at 259 (81-85-93). Rounding out the Winthrop scores was sophomore Ellie O'Brien in 49th place with a 269 (90-88-87).

Sparked by medalist Carmen Perez-Narbon, UNCW fired a season-low 299 in the final round to rally from an 11-stroke deficit and capture the team title by 13 shots over second place Penn which entered the third round holding a 11-shot lead. Locked in a three-way tie for second place after 36 holes, UNCW finished at 11-over-par in the 54-hole event to erase second-round leader Penn's 11-stroke advantage and post a 13-shot victory over the second-place Quakers with a tournament total of 915 (310-306-299). Penn carded a team total 928 (300-305-323) to take second, while Jacksonville State posted a 931 (310-306-315) scorecard to finish third.

Perez-Narbon captured the tournament's individual title for the second time in three years as she  posted  a 54-hole total of two-under-par 215 (69-73-73).

Winthrop will return to action on April 12-14 in the Big South Conference Championship in Ninety-Six, SC.