MIAMI, FLA. (FIUSports.com) – FIU Golf put together its top team score in the final round of play, shooting a 304 to finish the GolfWeek Conference Challenge in eighth place at 63-over (308-315-304-927). Played on the Fazio Course at the Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott, Colo., the 18-team event was won by Pepperdine, which finished five-over after 54 holes.

The Panthers were led by sophomores Meghan MacLaren (Cambridge, United Kingdom) and Sophie Godley (Notinghamshire, United Kingdom), who both finished among the top competitors in the event.

MacLaren would play in the top pairings after each round and wound up in fifth at six-over-par (72-77-73-222). She was tied for fourth after the first round and in seventh after the second. She scored a one-over on the final day to move into fifth. Godley tied for 14th at 11-over (78-75-74-227). After the first round,

Godley was in a tie for 30th and moved into 14th with her second round 75.

Pepperdine grabbed the top two spots in the individual standings at Grace Na won the event at six-under, followed by teammate Marissa Chow at four-under. They were the only two golfers among the 90 competing to finish under-par. 

Freshman Coralia Arias (Quito, Ecuador), playing in her second collegiate tournament, was the next highest Panther in the scoring. She tied for 32nd at 17-over (77-78-78-233).

Senior Shelby Coyle (Pembroke Pines, Florida) finished 60th after shooting a 79 in the final round, while freshman Lesley Atkins (Harwick, Scotland) withdrew after two rounds of play.

Of the 18 competing teams, 11 finished last year ranked among the top 100 in the country and six were ranked in the top 50. In addition FIU, the 18-team field at the GolfWeek Conference Challenge also features Arkansas-Little Rock, Ball State, Boston College, Central Arkansas, Denver, East Tennessee State, Harvard, Illinois State, Indiana, James Madison, Morehead State, Northern Arizona, Pepperdine, San Jose State, SMU, TCU and UC Davis.

FIU will next travel to Mississippi State's Old Waverly Invitational, held at the Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. The tournament runs Sept. 30 through Oct. 2.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU is a proud new member of Conference USA. The University is home to more than 400 student-athletes across 18 intercollegiate athletic programs. The Panthers play events in seven venues on both the Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay campuses, including Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium, U.S. Century Bank Arena and Biscayne Bay Aquatic Center. FIUSports.com is the official website of FIU Athletics, providing fans with all the latest news and game day ticket information.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.