Buffs In Eighth At Bruin Wave Invitational

TARZANA, Calif. – The University of Colorado women's golf team started strong here Monday, but struggled late to sit tied for eighth through two rounds at the Bruin Wave Invitational.

The Buffaloes ended the day 34-over par 610 (297-313) at the par-72, 6,173-yard El Caballero Country Club. The Buffs remained in contention at the end of the first round, with their 9-over par performance puting them in fifth place. CU faced bigger challenges in the second round, with sophomore Jamie Oleksiew being forced to withdraw after aggravating a prior wrist injury.

“That first round I was pretty pleased about,” CU head coach Anne Kelly said. “We didn't have the greatest finish to that round, but for a while we were really up there in contention. It was good to see signs of how this team can play. We've just got to break through some barriers. I thought the first round was really pretty good.

“It's a very tough course – it's long and they had a ton of rain, so it was playing extremely long. It's probably one of the better courses that I've seen in college golf. The second round we started out OK, and the wheels kind of came off unfortunately.”

Five top 20 teams make up the tournament's top five. No. 1 ranked Southern California used an impressive second round to jump into the top spot, with a 3-under par 573 (296-277) scorecard. Hosts UCLA (Golfstat's No. 2 ranked team) and Pepperdine (No. 17) sit in second and third place, at 2- and 5-over par, respectively. No. 12 Oklahoma State is in fourth, shooting 15-over par 591, and No. 11 Arizona rounds out the top five at 18-over par 594.

Sophomore Alexis Keating posted a 74 in both of Tuesday's rounds, finishing the day tied for 17th, at 4-over par 148. Keating went par or better on 14 holes in the first round. Though she bogeyed on the par-5 No. 17 in the second round, a hole she had previously birdied on, she trimmed two strokes on the par-4 No. 14 for her first of two birdies in the second round.

“I'm really pleased with how Alexis played today,” Kelly said. “She's been working hard, and it's really starting to pay off for her.”

Senior Jenny Coleman finished the first round 1-under par 71 to tie for sixth. She had more difficulty in the second, but remained in the top 25. At 7-over par 151, she is tied for 24th. Her first round performance was bolstered by three straight birdies on holes 2, 3 and 4 and 13 even pars. Coleman shot 8-over par in the second round, managing two birdies, but hitting three double bogies, including on the par-3, 140-yard No. 10, which was a hole that Kelly said “sort of killed us.” Despite her rough second round, Coleman continues to extend her program record in birdies, with 290 to her name.

In just her third collegiate tournament, Natalie Vivaldi proved to be a growing force for the Buffs. Vivaldi is tied for 31st after shooting 9-over par 153 (75-78). Even though the No. 10 was a challenge for the majority of the Buffs, Vivaldi first hit a birdie and then shot an even par on the hole. Vivaldi shot for par or better on 25 total holes.

Senior Kristin Coleman is tied for 51st with a 14-over par 158 scorecard. After shooting 3-over par 77 and hitting her only birdie of the day in the first round, she was tied for 36th. Coleman struggled on the par-4 No. 3 and the pesky No. 10, hitting bogey or worse on those holes in both rounds.

Jamie Oleksiew had a rough first round, going over par on 12 rounds as her injury became more irritated, forcing a withdrawal by the second round.

“Jamie has been battling a wrist injury since late fall, and unfortunately, with the heavy rough, she really aggravated it again, so she had to withdrawal” Kelly said. “We were down to four players for most of the second round and we just didn't finish up too well, unfortunately.”

Two Women of Troy stand atop the individual standings. Doris Chen jumped six spots to claim the top spot with a 5-under par 139 scorecard. Teammate and sixth ranked Kyung Kim is tied for second, along with two other golfers ranked in the top 23: UCLA's Alison Lee and Oklahoma State's Julie Yang. Each sits at 4-under par 140. Pepperdine's Marissa Chow rounds out the top five at 2-under par 142.

CU plays the final round of the Bruin Wave Invitational Tuesday. Next up for the Buffs is the Clover Cup in Mesa, Ariz. from Friday, March 14 to Sunday, March 16.

BUFFALOES INDIVIDUALS
t-17.	Alexis Keating	74-74—148
t-24.	Jenny Coleman	71-80—151
t-31.	Natalie Vivaldi	75-78—153
t-51.	Kristin Coleman	77-81—158
90.	Jamie Oleksiew	86-0—86
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
1.	Doris Chen, USC	72-67—139
t-2.	Kyung Kim, USC	70-70—140
t-2.	Julie Yang, Oklahoma State	69-71—140
t-2.	Alison Lee, UCLA	70-70—140
5.	Marissa Chow, Pepperdine	72-70—142
TEAM STANDINGS
1.	Southern California	296-277—573
2.	UCLA	292-286—578
3.	Pepperdine	291-290—581
4.	Oklahoma State	294-297—591
5.	Arizona	299-295—594
6.	Washington	299-301—600
7.	California	301-309—610
t-8.	Oregon State	301-309—610
t-8.	Colorado	297-313—610
10.	Long Beach State	308-311—619
t-11.	UNLV	308-312—620
t-11.	Washington State	306-314—620
13.	San Diego State	314-308—622
14.	UNC Wilmington	317-317—634
15.	CSU-Northridge	322-314—636
16.	BYU	317-323—640
17.	New Mexico State	322-320—642

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Players Mentioned

Jenny Coleman

Kristin Coleman

Alexis Keating

Jamie Oleksiew

Natalie Vivaldi

Colorado University Athletics