Women's Golf In Lead At Edean Ihlanfeldt Invite

SAMMAMISH, Wash.—The No. 17 University of Colorado women's golf team is tied for first place after two rounds at the 2011 Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, held here just east of Seattle at the Sahalee Country Club.

The Buffaloes are again tied with No. 16 California, just like they were after the first round. This time the two are tied for the lead as both teams have shot identical scores of 299-296—595 and sit at 19-over par. Two other Pac-12 teams are right in the mix, as well, with No. 34 Oregon one shot back at 20-over par 596 and No. 21 Washington at 21-over par 597 in fourth place. Oregon State rounds out the top five at 35-over par 611.

“It was kind of a roller coaster ride today,” CU head coach Anne Kelly said. “The good news is we got off to a great start. The bad news is we gave up some strokes near the end of the round and let the field back in it. It was definitely one of the best starts this team has had. But with this level of competition you can't let them back in it.”

About two-thirds of the way through the round, the Buffs held as big as a six-stroke advantage on the 6,003-yard, par 72 layout, according to live scoring. Over the past seven holes, the Buffs collectively shot 10-over par. As a team to that point, they were 4-over par, and just 1-over par when throwing out the highest score.

“The good news is that even after not finishing as strong as we would like, we still have a shot at it,” Kelly said. “Tomorrow will be a good learning experience. As long as we keep improving as a team, I definitely saw signs of improvement today and I expect to tomorrow as well.”

“As a team in general, we know that we can do better,” senior Jessica Wallace said. “We know we didn't finish strong, we didn't put our best effort out there for the entire round. But after that we are tied for first, and that says a lot. We know that we are a strong team in the Pac-12, we believe we are, and this just helps solidify that thinking.”

Wallace rebounded from shooting an 80 in the first round and went under par, shaving nine strokes off her score carding a 1-under par 71. She was one of just five players under par and moved from a tie for 39th after the first round to a tie for 11th with at 7-over par 151. She was 2-under after getting a birdie on the sixth hole but back-to-back bogeys put her at even par on the front nine. She played even par on the back nine until getting a birdie on the final hole to finish under par.

“Today, I just did a better job of keeping my emotions in check,” Wallace said. “Not getting too heating if things were going my way. Yesterday they weren't going my way right off the bat. My ball-striking felt the same, so it just mentally that made a big difference.”

“It was nice to see Jess back on her game,” Kelly added. “She was playing much more like herself and on her game today.”

Sophomore Alex Stewart is still in the mix for medalist honors and is in third place after shooting 3-over par 75. She sits at 1-over par 145 through 36 holes and is two strokes behind the co-leaders. She birdied the 18th for the second straight round to close on a good note. She was 3-over par on the front nine and then had seven straight pars on the back nine before a bogey on 17 and birdie on 18.

“Alex is still in it individually, and definitely has a chance to get a win tomorrow,” Kelly said. “Good for her. She hasn't really played that many college tournaments. It shows what a quality player she is, that she didn't play her best golf today and she's still in the mix.”

Sophomore Kristin Coleman was playing her round under par for much of the day and after a five hole stretch with three birdies, she was 2-under par through eight. She had a bogey and then birdied the 11th to go back to 2-under before having four bogeys in her final seven holes to finish at 2-over par 74 in the round. Her 36 hole total of 6-over par 150 has her tied for ninth individually.

Senior Emily Talley finished her round at 4-over par 76 and it at 10-over par 154 through two rounds and tied for 26th. Like the first round, she played well on the back nine, shooting 1-over with a key birdie on the 17th hole.

Sophomore Jenny Coleman had three bogeys on the front nine but also had three birdies to shoot even par on the front nine. She struggled a bit on the back nine, going 5-over par in the final four holes. On the strength of her first round, she is still tied for 22nd with a score of 75-78—153.

Oregon's Cassy Isagawa and Washington's Jennifer Yang are tied for first headed into the final round. Both are 1-under par 143 and two strokes ahead of Stewart. California's Joanne Lee is one stroke behind Stewart at 2-over par 146 while Nebraska's Madeline Sheils rounds out the top five at 3-over par 147.

The field will conclude play Wednesday with the final 18 holes. This is the second-to-last fall event for the Buffs.

“Everybody has their individual goals going tomorrow,” Wallace said. “But as a team, we're looking to get out to a good start, duplicating our start today, and then finishing a lot stronger and hopefully we'll come out on top.”

“We are still in it, but we will also have our work cut out for us tomorrow, it will be a shoot out,” Kelly said. “We're looking forward to the challenge, the goal is to keep yourself in the mix and give it your best shot.”

BUFFALOES INDIVIDUALS
3.	Alex Stewart	70-75—145
t-9.	Kristin Coleman	76-74—150
t-11.	Jessica Wallace	80-71—151
t-22.	Jenny Coleman	75-78—153
t-26.	Emily Talley	78-76—154

TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
t-1.	Cassy Isagawa, Oregon	72-71—143
t-1.	Jennifer Yang, Washington	73-70—143
3.	Alex Stewart, Colorado	70-75—145
4.	Joanne Lee, California	73-73—146
5.	Madeline Sheils, Nebraska	73-74—147

TEAM STANDINGS
t-1.	Colorado	299-296—595
t-1.	California	299-296—595
3.	Oregon	301-295—596
4.	Washington	303-294—597
5.	Oregon State	298-313—611
6.	San Jose State	314-302—616
7.	Idaho	311-309—620
8.	Gonzaga	305-316—621
9.	UNLV	311-312—623
10.	Nebraska	318-312—630
11.	BYU	322-309—631
12.	Washington State	322-315—637

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Players Mentioned

Jenny Coleman

Kristin Coleman

Alex Stewart

Emily Talley

Jessica Wallace