Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Round Three
Buffs Finish Fourth At Gator Women's Invitational
March 07, 2011 | Women's Golf
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Junior Jess Wallace rallied to a third place finish and the No. 29 University of Colorado women's golf team held on to finish fourth as a team at the 2011 University of Florida SunTrust Gator Women's Invitational here Monday.
In a field that features nine of the top 46 teams in the country, the Buffs took fourth place with a final round 300 to finish 56-over par with a three round total of 896. It is the third straight tournament this spring the Buffs have finished fourth, coming in behind No. 34 Florida, which won on its home course in by 18 strokes with a score of 25-over par 865. No. 38 Florida State took home second place with a 43-over par 883 and No. 30 Ohio State edged the Buffaloes by one stroke, shooting 55-over par 895.
The Buffs came in just ahead of No. 22 Arkansas, who finished fifth at 59-over par 899, and No. 11 Iowa State, No. 35 Chattanooga and No. 46 Coastal Carolina, who all tied for sixth place at 61-over par 901. Also in the field was No. 28 Kent State, ranked one spot ahead of the Buffs but finishing 10th with a 73-over par 913.
"Again, as a team, we didn't get off to a good start," CU coach Anne Kelly said. "But we had some bright spots. Jess was 5-over after six holes and ended up three over, moving back into contention by the end of the round. Kristin (Coleman) broke free a little bit and shot a 72 and Jenny (Coleman) finished out another great event for us."
Wallace opened her round with two straight bogeys and then after two pars got a double bogey on No. 8, and then after another bogey on the ninth hole, she shot 1-under on the back nine with eight pars and a birdie and then when she took the turn back at the first hole, she had a bogey sandwiched by two birdies to close out her round. She ended the round at 3-over par 73 on the day and 6-over par 216 for the tournament, good enough for a tie for third place, matching her second best finish this season.
"It was an interesting start for me, not exactly what I was going for," Wallace said. "I had some bad rolls and bounces early in the round; I wasn't hitting bad shots or anything like that. Later in the round, I made some good up and downs when I had to, I felt like I was scrambling the last dozen holes, but I had a bit better luck and that saved me from trouble a few times."
Wallace now has seven straight top 10 finishes, matching the school record set by classmate Emily Talley spanning last season and this season. She has five top 5 finishes in the last seven events.
Talley struggled a bit Sunday, shooting a 9-over par 79, but her first and second round 71s still enabled her to finish tied for 13th at 11-over par 221. She opened the day with a birdie but had three double bogeys in a seven-hole stretch, starting with the No. 8.
"Emily didn't play bad, she just had a few bad holes," Kelly said. "No. 8 is a tough par 3 over water and it was a tough pin placement. It seemed like everybody played it poorly."
The No. 8 played as the hardest hole on the course Sunday at .97 over par. There were just four birdies in the third round but there were 17 bogeys, 14 double bogeys and 11 triple bogeys or worse in the field.
Kristin Coleman broke out a bit of a spring slump, shooting 2-over par 72, shaving 10 strokes off her second round total and improving from a tie for 73rd entering the day to a tie for 51st. She bogeyed her first hole and then got five straight pars before she had an up-and-down stretch that included an eagle, three birdies, a par, a bogey and double bogey in a span of seven holes.
"Kristin was definitely a bright spot for us today," Kelly said. "She had a couple of three-putts and still finished with a 72. She figured a couple of things out, (assistant coach) Brent (Franklin) gave her a couple of tips that really helped her out today."
Jenny Coleman shot a 6-over par 76 in the third round to finish 17-over par 227. She was consistent throughout all three rounds, shooting a 75 in the first round and76 in the final two rounds. After starting her round at 4-over par through five holes, she played at even par the next 10 before two bogeys on her final three holes to finish 6-over.
"Jenny played another solid tournament for us," Kelly said. "As a freshman, shooting 75 and 76 consistently on a course like this good. She has come a long way and put a in a lot of time and effort and it's definitely showing for her."
Sophomore Taylor Doyle shot a final round 10-over par 80 to finish at 38-over par 248 in 85th place while junior Meaghan Kari shot an 11-over par 81 to finish at 36-over par 246, tied for 83rd.
After three events in just over two weeks, the Buffs will now have a couple of weekends off before hosting the MountainView Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz., on March 25-26.
"It will be nice to have a little break," Kelly said. "The last three weeks has given us an idea of what each individual needs to work on, so it will be nice to have some time to practice those things. We need to get back into school here. I'm excited, I can't wait to see what this team can do after we improve on a few things and get started with the second half of our spring schedule."
"It's not a long break upcoming, but it comes at a good time," Wallace continued. "We all have exams coming up, so it will be a good time to be in class so we can focus on that 100 percent. Our next event is in Arizona and it's spring break, so we will be able to get some good work done in Arizona that week."
BUFFALOES INDIVIDUALS
|
Rk. |
Team |
Score |
|
t-3. |
Jess Wallace |
75-68-73-216 |
|
t-13. |
71-71-79-221 |
|
|
t-25. |
75-76-76-227 |
|
|
t-51. |
79-82-72-233 |
|
|
t-83. |
81-84-81-246 |
|
|
85. |
87-81-80-248 |
|
|
* |
Playing Individually |
|
TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS
|
Rk. |
Team |
Score |
|
1. |
Hannah Thomson, Florida State |
69-72-69-210 |
|
2. |
Vicky Villaneuva, Ohio State |
72-67-73-212 |
|
t-3. |
Jess Wallace, Colorado |
75-68-73-216 |
|
t-3. |
Emma de Groot, Chattanooga |
73-73-70-216 |
|
t-3. |
Charlotte Lorentzen, Georgia State |
74-64-78-216 |
|
t-3. |
Emily Tubert, Arkansas |
76-71-69-216 |
TEAM SCORES
|
Rk. |
Team |
Score |
|
1. |
Florida |
280-292-293-572 |
|
2. |
Florida State |
295-294-294-589 |
|
3. |
Ohio State |
299-300-296-599 |
|
4. |
Colorado |
300-296-300-596 |
|
5. |
Arkansas |
298-296-305-594 |
|
t-6. |
Coastal Carolina |
290-306-305-596 |
|
t-6. |
Chattanooga |
297-304-300-601 |
|
t-6. |
Iowa State |
302-294-305-596 |
|
9. |
Augusta State |
307-302-302-609 |
|
10. |
Kent State |
296-314-303-610 |
|
11. |
Texas Tech |
304-303-307-607 |
|
12. |
Central Florida |
298-310-311-608 |
|
13. |
Georgia State |
308-294-326-602 |
|
14. |
James Madison |
307-312-318-619 |
|
15. |
UNC Greensboro |
308-317-315-625 |
|
16. |
Stetson |
320-321-305-641 |
|
17. |
Missouri |
315-313-319-628 |
