Dec. 1, 2008

Tulsa, Oklahoma - After winning a Conference USA Championship last spring The University of Tulsa women's golf team is beginning to reap the benefits on the recruiting trail. This week, Kristina Merkle one of the nation's top prospects in the class of 2009 signed a National Letter of Intent with the Golden Hurricane. Merkle, who hails from Honolulu, Hawaii is the 29th-ranked high school senior golfer in the country.

Merkle comes to Tulsa with quite an impressive resume. In 2008, she won the PGA Junior Tours Series, tied for first place at the Hawaii State Open and was champion of the Junior Aloha Section PGA Championship. At one of the nation's most prestigious amateur events, the USGA Women's Public Links, Merkle tied for the low qualifier. In 2007, she was named the Hawaii State Junior Player of the Year.

"Kristina is one of the top recruits we have signed since I have been here at Tulsa," said Head Coach Randy Keck. "Along with our current young players here, she willl help us to build a great future at Tulsa."

Merkle is set to join the TU women's golf team in 2009 that returns eight players from this years squad.