Meghan Stasi of Oakland Park, Tara Connelly of Palm Beach Gardens, and Ericka Schneider of Bradenton, will represent Florida at the 2013 US Women's State Team Championship at NCR Country Club in Kettering, Ohio. The Championship will be conducted September 17-19 on NCR's South Course. Stasi, Connelly, and Schneider hope to help Florida bring home another Championship title, as the state last won in 1999.
The Florida team has been paired with the Tennessee and Maryland teams for the first and second rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday. Florida’s tee times will begin at 7:45 AM off #1 on Tuesday, and then at 12:35 PM off #10 on Wednesday.
This will be Meghan Stasi’s third US Women’s State Team Championship. She competed in 2011 and 2009 where the Florida team placed 6th and 11th respectively. Stasi is the current defending champion and four-time winner of the US Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. She will be heading to the Biltmore Forest Country Club in Asheville, NC next month for the 2013 US Women’s Mid-Amateur to defend her title. Stasi just recently won the FSGA’s Inaugural Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship held at Lakewood Ranch G&CC, shooting 72-75-147. She also won the Women’s International Four-Ball Championship earlier this year with good friend and teammate Tara Connelly.
Tara Connelly will be representing Florida at the US Women’s State Team Championship for the first time. As a previous resident of Massachusetts, Connelly played for Massachusetts in every championship except for 1999 and 2001. Connelly will also be heading to Asheville, NC next month for the US Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship as she is exempt after being a semi-finalist in 2011. Connelly recently finished tied for second at the FSGA’s Inaugural Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, shooting 76-72-148 to finish behind Stasi by only one shot, and she also finished tied for second earlier this summer at the Florida Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship shooting 74-73-72-219.
Next week will be Ericka Schneider’s first appearance at the US Women’s State Team Championship. Just finishing her eligibility playing at Ole Miss, Schneider has made a name for herself. This summer she advanced to Round of 32 matches at the 2013 US Women’s Public Links Championship at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club in Norman, OK. And in 2012 she won both the Florida Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Championship and the Florida Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship (with partner Wendi Golden). Prior to her time at Ole Miss, Schneider helped lead Daytona State College win NJCAA National Championship Titles (2010 & 2011)
NCR's South Course will be set up at 6,153 yards and play to a par of 37-36-73. The South Course has been the venue for many recognizable national events. It was the site of the 51st PGA Championship in 1969, won by Ray Floyd, the 41st U.S. Women's Open in 1986, won by Jane Geddes, the 1998 U.S. Mid-Amateur won by Spider Miller and most recently the site of the 2005 U.S. Senior Open Championship, won by Allen Doyle.
All states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico may enter teams of three players to the US Women’s State Team Championship. The only golfers ineligible to participate are those currently on a college team, per NCAA rules. Eighteen holes of stroke play are scheduled for Sept. 17-19 (Tuesday-Thursday) with two lowest of the three individual scores counting as the team’s score for the round. The team with the lowest aggregate score through 54 holes is the champion.
Click here to view complete pairings.
Click here to view the US Women’s State Team Championship homepage.
