Dec. 3, 2001

The University of Missouri women's golf team has signed two golfers to National Letters of Intent. Missouri coach Stephanie Cooper announced that Stephanie Turner of Martinsville, Ind. and Kelli Strubinger of St. Charles, Mo. have signed on to join the Tigers next year.

Turner led her high school team to the state tournament each of her four years, including a second place finish this year. She had a scoring average of 37.3 this fall and was the medalist in the sectional and regional tournaments. Turner was a two-time All-State honoree and a three-time All-Conference selection. She was elected to the Powerbar Team this year and was nominated for the National Female Athlete of the Week by Fox Sports as a junior.

"Stephanie will be a tremendous asset to our team," Cooper said. "She is a hard working, self-motivated young lady that will push our team to their full potential. What I liked about Stephanie when I watched her play was that she never gave up and she has an excellent competitive spirit."

Strubinger is a two-time USGA United States Junior Girls Championship participant and 2001 USGA United States Women's Amateur participant. She was the Missouri Class 3A/4A Champion in 2001 and led Francis Howell High School to a second-place finish in the 2001 Class 3A/4A State Championship. She finished third in the state tournament as a junior and fourth as a sophomore. She was selected by the St. Louis Post Dispatch as the Girls Golfer of the Year in 2000 and 2001 and was the Gateway Athletic Conference Girls Golf Champion in 1999, 2000 and 2001. She is also a Bright Flight Scholar and a Curators Scholar.

"Kelli is a strong athlete with a lot of talent. Not only is she a great golfer, but she also excels in the classroom," Cooper said. "Kelli will be a nice addition to our program and I am looking forward to watching her progress over the next four years."