Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic
Women's Golf Ties For Third At Ptarmigan
September 09, 2014 | Women's Golf
FORT COLLINS – The University of Colorado women's golf team finished tied for third to open the season at the Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic at the Ptarmigan Country Club, hosted by Colorado State.
San Diego State won the tournament posting an 870, or 6-over par. UNLV had the best team round of the day, a 1-over 289 and finished in second place, eight strokes behind the Aztecs. The Buffaloes tied Illinois for third, recording a 294-292-295–881, 17-over par. Gonzaga finished one stroke behind the Buffs and Illini carding an 882 in the meet.
“I think we handled the conditions a little better today,” said CU head coach Anne Kelly. “Esther [Lee] and Alexis [Keating] especially stepped up and played pretty well. I see great potential in this team. There are just a few things we need to clean up and we should be on our way."
The Buffs had two players finish in the top 10. Junior Alexis Keating (70-72-71–213, 3-under) finished tied for third with Raychelle Stantos from Gonzaga while Colorado sophomore transfer Esther Lee (72-72-72–216) placed sixth overall, shooting even-par in all three rounds.
Keating started out the final round even-par through the first five holes and then sank two birdies on holes six and eight before making the turn. When she started the back nine, she was 2-under and would maintain that score until she hit a rough spot, bogeying the second to last hole. She still finished the day with a 1-under 71 and was only one of nine players in the field to card a sub-par final round.
“Our team members fought hard,” Kelly said. “I'm proud of how we did and especially happy for Alexis and her third place finish and Esther to finish in sixth. To have two players in the top 10 is a pretty good start.”
The newcomer Lee recorded four birdies on Tuesday. She was 2-under through the first 11 holes, but then struggled bogeying the two par-fives on the back nine. The sophomore transfer settled down on the final two holes, paring both on her way to post an even-par, 72 final round, and even-par, 216 for the tournament.
"Going into the week I felt really good and was excited to get the season going,” said Lee. “Today I started off well, but when the winds picked up it made the last couple holes a lot more difficult. Overall, I think we did well and finished strong as a team.”
Freshman Brittany Fan started her last round with five straight pars then went birdie, bogey, bogey over the next three holes. She bogeyed three more holes, but rebounded and picked-up a par on the final hole, carding a 3-over 75 for the round and finished 76-74-75–225, or 9-over par in her first collegiate meet, tying for 28th overall.
“Brittany hit the ball well and played pretty well,” Kelly said. “She struggled with her putter a little bit and that's an area we need to keep working on. She'll get better. She's making a couple adjustments with her stroke and that takes a little time to get used to.”
Sophomore Natalie Vivaldi recorded a 5-over 77 on the final day of competition, matching her same score from the first round. She struggled to begin her day, recording three bogeys in six holes. Vivaldi also double-bogeyed a par-three on the back nine, but finished strong sinking one of her two birdies on the last hole. She tied for 40th with an overall score of 228.
Junior Jamie Oleksiew struggled a bit in her last round, posting an 8-over par 80 to finish tied for 51st at 15-over par 231. Also playing for the Buffaloes as an individual was redshirt freshman Tori Glenn. Glenn posted a third round 5-over par 77, two strokes better than her second round on Monday. She also carded a 15-over par 231 for the tournament, tying fellow Buff Oleksiew for 51st place.
“Tori showed a lot of competitive heart today,” said Kelly. “She was 4 or 5-over after the first few holes and fought hard to save her round. It was nice to see her in a tournament and really compete hard.”
San Diego State's Emma Henrikson won the meet with a 5-under 211 after an even-par final round. Henrikson's teammate Sirene Blair finished one stroke behind (70-69-73–212) in second place. Keating and Gonzaga's Raychelle Santos tied for third, posting a 3-under 213 and Madchen Ly from Fresno State took fifth place with a sub-par finish at 1-under 215.
The Buffaloes travel to Minneapolis, Minn. next week for the Minnesota Invitational, held at Minikahda Club Sept. 15-16.
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
Rk. Team Score
T3. Alexis Keating 70-72-71 – 213
6 Esther Lee 72-72-72 – 216
T28. Brittany Fan 76-74-75 – 225
T40. Natalie Vivaldi 77-74-77 – 228
T51. Jamie Oleksiew 76-75-80 – 231
T51. Tori Glenn 75-79-77 – 231
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
Rk. Team Score
1. Emma Henrikson, San Diego State 72-67-72 – 211
2. Sirene Blair, San Diego State 70-69-73 – 212
T3. Alexis Keating, Colorado 70-72-71 – 213
T3. Raychelle Santos, Gonzaga 70-70-73 – 213
5 Madchen Ly, Fresno State 70-74-71 – 215
TEAM SCORES
Rk. Team Score
1. San Diego State 289-288-293 – 870
2 UNLV 292-297-289 – 878
T3. Colorado 294-292-295 – 881
T3. Illinois 297-289-295 – 881
5. Gonzaga 296-294-292 – 882
6. San Francisco 296-296-297 – 889
7. California 293-310-293 – 896
8. Kennesaw State 298-299-302 – 899
T9. Colorado State 302-300-301 – 903
T9. Fresno State 299-299-305 – 903
11. Idaho 306-298-300 – 904
12. Nevada 297-299-313 – 909
13. Boise State 303-306-304 – 913
14. Long Beach State 305-307-304 – 916
15. UTEP 308-316-313 – 937
16. Wyoming 312-319-313 – 944
17. Northern Colorado 312-313-321 – 946
Players Mentioned
