Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Rounds One/Two
Women's Golf in Fourth at Texas Tech
October 06, 2008 | Women's Golf
Lubbock, Texas ? The University of Colorado women's golf team battled through cold and windy weather conditions here Monday and is currently in fourth place after two rounds at the Texas Tech McHaney/Morehead Invitational.
Baylor (302-305?607) holds a three-stroke lead over host Texas Tech (303-307?610) in the team standings. University of Arkansas Little Rock (303-308?611) follows close behind in third, while the Buffs (313-301?614) and Nebraska (312-303?615) round out the top five teams that are comfortably separated from the rest of the pack.
“This morning it was pretty windy and cold out here,” said assistant coach Brent Franklin. “This is the first experience that our team has had with any wind this year and after perfect conditions for three straight tournaments it was good for them to be exposed to that.”
Colorado, listed at No. 31 in the Golfstat rankings, improved by 12 strokes in the second round and carded a 301 total, which proved to be the lowest team round of the day.
“I think that they got a little impatient this morning,” said Franklin. “The course was playing difficult, but they re-grouped pretty well after a tough opening round and played very well in the second round. They knew what we had to do and they figured it out in the afternoon.”
Sophomore Stephanie Simich paced the Buffaloes, turning in a 313-301?614 scorecard (four-over) on the 6,525-yard, par-73 Rawls Golf Course. Simich is tied for fifth place overall, which puts her in the running for her first top-five finish of the season.
“I definitely just started hitting the ball a lot better since I've been out here,” said Simich. “I am just working on a few simple things and simplifying my whole routine. We played a lot better this afternoon and I think that we're all very confident going into tomorrow. We know what we have to do and if we play better we can make a run at it and see where it takes us tomorrow.”
Freshman Emily Talley, after carding an 80 in the first round, rebounded in the second round, shooting an even-par 73, for CU's best round of the afternoon. Talley was one-under after nine holes in the second round and after she realized that she needed to gain some ground on the back nine, she hit a perfect drive within 10 feet of the hole to claim her second birdie in a row. Talley is currently in a tie for 12th place individually.
“Brent (Franklin) told me that we had to step it up in the afternoon and I hit a good five-iron really close to the hole,” said Talley. “Having to go against strong winds, I managed to hit it dead on and it was kind of a turning point for me in the round. With two birdies in a row I was feeling a lot better about my afternoon round.”
Junior Christine Kim also rebounded in the afternoon, shaving off seven strokes in round two, finishing with a two-round total of 155. Kim is currently tied for 17th place at nine over after day one.
“I am particularly pleased with Stephanie (Simich) and Christine (Kim),” said Franklin. “It's really nice to see them add so much to what we're trying to do. Emily (Talley) has been playing well all semester as she did today, but to get Steph and Christine going is only going to make us a very good team in the future.”
Junior Dominique Pytlewski and freshman Emily Childs rounded out the scoring for the Buffs, as they are tied for 27th and 37th place, respectively.
University of Arkansas-Little Rock's Sara Wikstrom carded a two round total of 141 (five-under), good for the individual lead by five strokes.
The final round of the tournament is scheduled to tee off Tuesday morning at approximately 8:30 a.m.
“They obviously want to do their best tomorrow and it's just going to come down to handling the conditions and situations as we come to them,” said Franklin. “This team is more than capable of shooting a very good score so if they can put some things together tomorrow they are more than capable of overcoming seven strokes. However, it is a difficult course, but I think our team has proven that we can shoot low scores when they all play well. They are looking forward to the opportunity to go out and prove themselves tomorrow.”
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
T5 Stephanie Simich ..... 73-77-150
T12 Emily Talley ............. 80-73-153
T17 Christine Kim ............ 81-74-155
T27 Dominique Pytlewski 81-77-158
T37 Emily Childs ............. 79-81-160
TEAM STANDINGS
1 Baylor University ...... 302-305-607
2 Texas Tech .............. 303-307-610
3 UALR ....................... 303-308-611
4 Colorado.................. 313-301-614
5 Nebraska.................. 312-303-615
6 Missouri.................... 315-310-625
Middle Tennessee..... 317-308-625
8 Kansas..................... 313-316-629
9 Redlands CC............. 322-310-632
10 Texas San Antonio.... 325-313-638
11 North Texas.............. 315-326-641
12 Sam Houston St........ 334-315-649
Kansas State............ 337-312-649
TOP-FIVE INDIVIDUALS
1 Sara Wikstrom, UALR.................. 73-68-141
2 Lene Hafsten-Morch, Baylor......... 73-73-146
3 Hannah Burke, Baylor.................. 73-74-147
4 Ulrika van Niekerk, Texas Tech...... 75-74-149
5 Mallory Fraiche, UALR................. 75-75-150
J.C. Stevenson, Nebraska............ 73-77-150
Stephanie Simich, Colorado...... 73-77-150
