Women's Golf Fifth at UNM Invitational

ALBUQUERQUE ? The University of Colorado women's golf team is in a tie for fifth place after the first round of play at the UNM Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational here Thursday.

Pepperdine is the team leader after one round, shooting 292 (E) to give them a two-stroke lead over host school New Mexico (294). CU shot 301 and sits in a four-way tie in the middle of the pack after day one.

“All in all it wasn't a great day for us, but that goes to show how much better we're getting that we can have an off day and still be in contention,” said head coach Anne Kelly. “I know that no one is satisfied with their round and we had a hard time with the greens today. They have tricky breaks and we need to do a better job of reading that.”

Buffalo junior Dominique Pytlewski leads the way for CU individually, as she posted a round one total of 73 to put her in a tie for sixth place. Pytlewski was two over on the front nine and she followed up a double bogey on hole No. 8 with three straight birdies, getting her back to even. After playing seven-straight holes to par, Pytlewski was two-under on the back nine, and finished with an even par 73.

Freshman Emily Talley followed close behind Pytlewski, recording a one-over 74. Talley was four-over with two birdies going into her final hole of the day and she pulled out an impressive eagle on a par-five hole to wrap up the first round in a tie for 14th individually.

“I needed that (eagle),” said Talley. “I wasn't dropping any putts today and I only had one birdie and the eagle saved me. It felt good to finish on a good note. We all know that we didn't play up to our expectations today, but we understand that we need to go out and play strong tomorrow to make up for it.”

“Emily Talley finished strong with an eagle on 18 which was good for her,” said Kelly. “Domi had a rough start but made a great comeback to finish even par for the day.”

Fellow freshman Emily Childs finished with a first round total of 75 and she currently sits in a tie for 24th place. Childs was even through 14 holes, but a pair of bogeys kept her from having the first round finish that she would have liked.

Juniors Christine Kim and Julie Kim rounded out the scoring for the Buffs, as they finished with a first-round total of 79 and 82, respectively. Christine Kim was three-over through eleven holes, but an unfortunate triple-bogey kept from moving up in the individual standings and finished in a tie for 56th place.

The UNM Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational will resume Friday morning as the teams continue to battle it out during the second round of play. CU golf fans can follow the action at www.golfstat.com

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS

T6. Dominique Pytlewski 73

T14. Emily Talley 75

T24. Emily Childs 74

T56. Christine Kim 79

T79. Julie Kim 82

TEAM RESULTS

1 Pepperdine........... 292

2 New Mexico.......... 294

3 Wyoming ............. 297

4 UC Davis ............. 298

T5 Texas ................. 301