Colorado University Athletics
W-Golf In 17th In Tucson
February 24, 2003 | Women's Golf
Tucson - Despite the spring season the Colorado women's golf team had been preparing for not starting off the way they had planned Monday, the Buffs are optimistic that they can rebound from a disappointing 325 opening round and improve from 17th here at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational.
"We were rusty, that's all there was to it," said Anne Kelly on her team's first tournament round since early November. "I think we'll make a good comeback. Our lack of playing, practicing and competition is behind us now and hopefully we'll be back in the swing of things tomorrow."
In the toughest field that Colorado has faced in Kelly's six seasons in Boulder, the Buffs are a distant 35 strokes off team leader Arizona State, which shot a 6-over-par 290 on the Arizona National Golf Course and sit four strokes ahead of 11th-ranked Pepperdine (294). Host and third-ranked Arizona (297), Vanderbilt (297) and UCLA (299) round out the top-five team scores after today's round.
The Sun Devils' Erin Tone is a top the leaderboard with a 3-under 68, just one stroke ahead of Erica Blasberg (69), who is the top-rated player in the nation in the most recent Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. Pepperdine's Lindsey Wright (71) and Carolina Llano (71) and Arizona's Laura Myerscough (71) turned in the only par or better performances Monday.
After having to count a 9 on her third hole, senior Erin Kerr made a huge comeback on the back nine and leads all Buffs with a 7-over-par 78. Senior Jolene Fellhauer is just a stroke behind Kerr with a first-round 79. Maria Persson Gulda's group began being timed and rattled the group and the direct result was Persson Gulda carding an 81. Sophomore Allison Rella started hitting the ball off line and punished with a first-round 87, matching classmate Joey Stetser's opening round effort.
"If you miss a shot on this course, you're in a lot of trouble... you're in the cactus, brush and everything else a desert course has to offer," said Kelly.
The second and third rounds will be played Tuesday and Wednesday morning, with 7:30 a.m. shotgun starts, respectively.
"I really feel like tomorrow will be a different story. I have all the confidence in the world with five solid players determined to play better."
ARIZONA WILDCAT INVITATIONAL (Tucson, Ariz.) COLORADO PLAYERS t-42. Erin Kerr 37-41- 78 t-47. Jolene Fellhauer 40-39- 79 t-64. Maria Persson Gulda 39-42- 81 t-95. Allison Rella 42-45- 87 t-95. Joey Stetser 45-42- 87 TEAM SCORES 1. Arizona State 290 2. Pepperdine 294 3. Vanderbilt 297 3. Arizona 297 5. UCLA 299 6. New Mexico State 307 6. Tennessee 307 8. Southern California 308 9. Washington 310 10. Colorado State 313 11. San Jose State 314 11. Arkansas 314 13. Stanford 315 14. UNLV 317 14. BYU 317 16. Southern Methodist 320 17. COLORADO 325 18. Northern Arizona 327
