Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
Rounds One/Two
Buffs Tied For Seventh At Minnesota Invitational
September 14, 2015 | Women's Golf
MINNEAPOLIS – The University of Colorado women's golf team opened its 2015-16 season here Monday, finishing the day tied for seventh overall at the Minnesota Invitational held at the par 72, 6,119-yard Minikahda Club.
As a team the Buffaloes shot nearly identical scores in each round, recording a 300-301—601 or 25-over par through 36 holes. Purdue leads the tournament at 10-over par, 586. East Carolina made the biggest move of the afternoon, climbing seven spots in the second round and is four strokes back at 14-over par and in second place. Illinois is in third, two back from East Carolina, shooting 16-over par. Houston carded a 20-over team score and sits in fourth, while school host, Minnesota rounds out the top five at plus-21.
“Overall, we didn't play our best, not nearly close to what I think we can do,” said Colorado head coach Anne Kelly. “First round, first day out of the box we're a little rusty.”
Junior Esther Lee picked up right where she left off at the end of last season, shooting a stellar 3-under par (71-70—141) and is in a three-way tie for second place heading into the final round. Lee showed her true toughness as the second-year Buff is battling a knee injury, but never let it phase her. She went 1-under her first time through and then finished the second round at 2-under. Lee recorded a team-leading eight birdies, five in the first round and three over her final 18 holes for the day.
“Esther played really good golf,” said Kelly. “That took some guts to play that well because I know she was hurting quite a bit. She played extremely well, plus with some adversity to overcome and she really showed how tough she is today.”
Senior Allie Zech carded a 71-78—149 or 5-over par. Through her first 18 holes, Zech shot 1-under par with four birdies. The back nine of the second round proved to be a bit more challenging for Zech as she was 5-over par with five bogeys, but she settled to par the final hole and is in good position for a top 15 finish as she is tied for 13th overall.
“Allie has been working hard and going into her last year, I know this summer she worked hard on her game, worked hard on her fitness and just her attitude she took into this year, she's really working to make this a great last year,” Kelly said. “I'm really happy for her and see the hard work pay off. I know she was disappointed with her last nine holes, but I think she can see where she has made some good progress.”
Sophomore Brittany Fan is 11-over par (79-76—155) and tied for 40th place. She was 7-over her first time out and then improved her second round by three strokes, recording plus-4. The Pearl City, Hawaii native had a strong start beginning round two, with a birdie on hole No. 1. She bogeyed the third hole, but then dropped back to 1-under with her third birdie of the day on the sixth hole. Fan had trouble with five bogeys over the following 10 holes, but rebounded with back-to-back pars to conclude the day.
Junior Natalie Vivaldi is one stroke behind Fan at 12-over par, shooting 79-77—156. She also improved in the second round, shaving two strokes off her first round score. Vivaldi was up and down throughout the majority of the day, however calmed down over her last 11 holes, shooting 1-over par with one birdie, eight pars and just two bogeys. Vivaldi is tied for 45th place.
Senior Alexis Keating is 16-over par (79-81—160) and tied for 57th overall after two tough rounds. She recorded a 7-over par in the first round and then carded 9-over her second time through. Despite a difficult day for Alexis, she did tally three birdies and 18 pars.
Freshman Lauryn Keating, making her collegiate debut and playing as an individual, shot 22-over par in her first two rounds as a Buffalo. Lauryn recorded 12-over in the opening round and then went 10-over her second time on the course. Lauryn (84-82—166) is tied for 62nd place.
Minnesota's Celia Kuenster holds the top spot on the leaderboard, shooting 4-under par and has a one stroke lead over a trio of players, including Lee along with Linn Andersson from Purdue and F. Gustafsson Spang from East Carolina who all carded 141 or 3-under. Illinois' Bing Singhsumalee is in fifth place, just two strokes off the lead at 2-under par.
The third and final round gets underway Tuesday with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. MDT. The Buffs will play alongside GRU Augusta and TCU.
|
BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS |
||
|
Rank |
Name |
Score |
|
T2. |
71-70—141 |
|
|
T13. |
71-78—149 |
|
|
T39. |
79-76—155 |
|
|
T46. |
79-77—156 |
|
|
T59. |
79-81—160 |
|
|
63. |
84-82—166 |
|
|
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS |
||
|
Rank |
Name |
Score |
|
1. |
Celia Kuenster, Minnesota |
68-72—140 |
|
T2. |
Linn Andersson, Purdue |
71-70—141 |
|
T2. |
Esther Lee, Colorado |
71-70—141 |
|
T2. |
F. Gustafsson Spang, East Carolina |
72-69—141 |
|
5. |
Bing Singhsumalee, Illinois |
66-76—142 |
|
TEAM SCORES |
||
|
Rank |
Team |
Score |
|
1. |
Purdue |
287-299—586 |
|
2. |
East Carolina |
301-289—590 |
|
3. |
Illinois |
289-303—592 |
|
4. |
Houston |
297-299—596 |
|
5. |
Minnesota |
292-305—597 |
|
6. |
Kent State |
289-309—598 |
|
T7. |
GRU Augusta |
300-301—601 |
|
T7. |
COLORADO |
300-301—601 |
|
9. |
TCU |
295-308—603 |
|
10. |
Texas |
308-306—614 |
|
11. |
Kentucky |
310-307—617 |
|
12. |
Kansas |
314-312—626 |
