Buffs In Fourth At SEC/Pac-12 Challenge

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—The No. 24 University of Colorado women's golf team is in fourth place at the Mercedes Benz SEC/Pac-12 Challenge after the first round here Friday at the Holston Hills Country Club in what is likely the toughest field in which the Buffaloes have ever competed.

With all 23 teams from the two conferences in competition (Utah does not field a women's golf team), the NCAA Championship-caliber field includes eight of the top 10 teams in the country and 17 of the top 29 in the latest Golfstat rankings. In the publication's top 50 rankings, 21 of the 23 teams from the two leagues are represented.

“This is a great field,” CU head coach Anne Kelly said. “It's two of the best women's golf conferences playing against each other; the top two conferences.”

No. 1 UCLA leads the way at 7-under par 281 and the Bruins hold a 3-shot lead over No. 6 Alabama (4-under par 284) as the two are the only two teams under par. No. 27 and host Tennessee is third at 3-over par 291 and the Buffaloes are tied in fourth place with No. 9 Washington at 7-over par 295. Three teams, No. 2 Auburn, No. 7 Vanderbilt and No. 22 Arizona, are one shot back tied for sixth at 8-over par 296 on the 6,447-yard, par 72 Donald Ross designed course.

“I think this is the second-toughest course we've ever played,” Kelly said. “It's a very good course, it's hard but it's fair and you definitely need to have good short game skills to play it well. That's good for us, we've been working on that and it's been paying off. Our hard work and dedication have been paying off.”

The Buffs are ahead of 11 teams ranked higher than their own No. 24 ranking, including No. 4 LSU (307), No. 8 Arizona State (299), No. 10 Southern California (298), No. 12 Florida (298), No. 13 Oregon (301), No. 15 Georgia (305), No. 20 California (299), No. 22 Arizona (296) and No. 23 Kentucky (312). In terms of the conference competition, the Pac-12 is leading after the first round by just over two strokes with average team scores of 299.1 for the Pac-12 schools and 301.5 for the SEC.

“We played great today, especially later in the round,” Kelly said. “But it's one day, we have two more days to go, we need to keep plugging away, keep our heads down and take it a shot at a time.”

The Buffs started on the back nine and played it as a team at 6-over par and then improved to shoot 1-over as a team on the front nine of the course, back nine of their rounds. In fact, in the first six holes of the round, the Buffs were 9-over as a team and then played the final 12 holes at 2-under par. In the final two holes, the Buffs were 3-under par aided by birdies on the final hole by sophomores Jenny Coleman and Alex Stewart.

“Those first few holes are hard and it was cold and windy,” Kelly said. “They were hard holes to start on. But we really bounced back. It was huge to have birdies on the final hole from Jenny and Alex. Making birdies like that on finishing holes is really a good habit to get into.”

Stewart led the way or the Buffaloes and was the only CU player under par. On the first nine holes, as she had two birdies and a bogey to finish at 1-under par and then after a double bogey on the par 3 No. 4, she but played her final five holes at 1-under par to finish the her second nine even and the round 1-under par 71 and she is tied for ninth place individually.

She had five birdies, the second most in the field, and she played the par 4 holes at 2-under par, tied for the third best performance in the field. It marks her third subpar round of the season and the second straight event she's shot under par in the first round, also shooting 2-under 70 in the first round of the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, which the Buffs won.

Buffs In Fourth At SEC/Pac-12 Challenge * October 21, 2011 * 2/2/2

Sophomore Kristin Coleman finished at 2-over par 74 and is tied for 32nd individually with likely the most consistent performance for the Buffaloes. She had 14 pars, three bogeys and a birdie. Her 14 pars were the third most in the field.

Jenny Coleman and senior Jessica Wallace finished with 3-over par 75s and tied for 46th, but reaching that score in different ways. Jenny Coleman played her first nine holes at 2-over par with three bogeys and a birdie and then had three bogeys and two birdies to finish her second nine at 1-over. Wallace, meanwhile, saw herself at 5-over par through the first six holes after a rare double bogey and then rebounded to shoot 2-under par the rest of the way. After her 6 on the par 4 No. 15, she immediately responded with three birdies in the next four holes as she made the turn and then she also birdied the second to last hole, the par 3 No. 8, to help the Buffs get into the top 5 of the standings.

Senior Emily Talley finished one stroke behind those two at 4-over par 76 and is tied for 55th individually. She was 4-over par through seven holes and then played even on the final 11 holes with two birdies and two bogeys.

The challenge continues Saturday with the second round slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. ET. The Buffs will be teeing off on the first hole from 10:20 a.m. through 11 a.m. ET.

BUFFALOES INDIVIDUALS
t-9.	Alex Stewart	71
t-32.	Kristin Coleman	74
t-46.	Jenny Coleman	75
t-46.	Jessica Wallace	75
t-55.	Emily Talley	76

TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
t-1.	Stephanie Meadow, Alabama	68
t-1.	Lauren Stratton, Vanderbilt	68
3.	Stephanie Kono, UCLA	69
t-4.	Ashleigh Albrecht, Kentucky	70
t-4.	Hannah Collier, Alabama	70
t-4.	Erynne Lee, UCLA	70
t-4.	Sara Monberg, Tennessee	70
t-4.	Mariko Tumangan, Stanford	70

TEAM STANDINGS
1.	UCLA	281
2.	Alabama	284
3.	Tennessee	291
t-4.	Colorado	295
t-4.	Washington	295
t-6.	Auburn	296
t-6.	Vanderbilt	296
t-6.	Arizona	296
t-9.	Florida	298
t-9.	Southern California	298
11.	California	299
t-12.	Arizona State	300
t-12.	Stanford	300
t-14.	Mississippi	301
t-14.	Oregon	301
16.	Arkansas	303
17.	Georgia	305
18.	LSU	307
19.	South Carolina	310
t-20.	Kentucky	312
t-20.	Washington State	312
22.	Oregon State	313
23.	Mississippi State	317

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Players Mentioned

Jenny Coleman

Kristin Coleman

Alex Stewart

Emily Talley

Jessica Wallace