Buffs Show Improvement, But Remain 14th at the PING/ASU Invitational

PHOENIX, Ariz. — The University of Colorado women's golf team fared much better on Saturday after the second round of the PING/ASU Invitational, shooting a 10-over 298.

The Buffs are still 14^th overall (607), but saw an 11-stroke improvement as they shot a 21-over 309 on Friday during the first 18-holes. At this point, they are only three strokes back from Oklahoma State (604) and are six-strokes from 12^th-place Georgia (601).

"Things were better today, especially by Kirsty and Haley," head coach Anne Kelly said. "Overall everyone managed their game better. We still have some work to do, but it was nice to see a little progress today."

Stanford continues to lead the tournament and is 5-under with rounds of 287 and 284. Arizona State is just one-stroke back with a 4-under 572 (288 and 284). SU and ASU are the only two teams under par; there are three teams, Southern California, Northwestern and Oklahoma, that are tied for third at 4-over (580).

Just about everyone on the team saw progress on the second day. Senior Haley Nist and junior Kirsty Hodgkins each shot a 76 in the first round and shaved three strokes off their scores on the second day, shooting a 3-over 73. Both are tied for 38^th in the individual standings after moving up 13 spots with a 5-over 149.

Hodgkins started the round on the back nine and was 3-over after recording three bogeys and six pars, but she was able to bounce back well on the front nine, making seven straight pars before finishing with a pair of birdies. Nist also started on the back nine and was 1-over before heading to the front nine. She recorded four birdies in the round with nine pars and five bogeys.

Third on the team is freshman Kelsey Webster, and although she did not improve her score from the first day where led the Buffs with a 2-over 74, she did not have a terrible day as she recorded a 5-over 77, and four of those strokes came on double-bogeys. Other than those two, she had one bogey and made par on the other 15 holes. She is tied for 52^nd (7-over 151).

Sophomore Elle Otten took six strokes of her scorecard on Saturday as she also shot a 5-over 77, improving from her 11-over 83 on Friday. Otten's second round included one birdie, four bogeys, one double and 12 pars. Her score of 16-over 160 is currently 79^th overall.

The biggest improvement of the day came from freshman Malak Bouraeda. On Friday, she struggled on the course and recorded a 14-over 86. But on Saturday, she took off 11 strokes and came away with a 3-over 75, which included three bogeys and 15 pars. With the difference in her game, she was able to move up five positions in the individual standings and is tied for 80^th with a 17-over 161.

Senior Gillian Vance, who is playing as an individual, shot her second consecutive 7-over 79 of the tournament and is tied for 76^th.

After two rounds, Stanford's Andrea Lee is still the leader at 7-under 137. She has a one-stroke advantage over Southern California's Jennifer Chang and Oklahoma's Kaitlin Milligan (both are 6-under 138)

The third and final round is Sunday.

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
Rank	Name	Score
T38.	Kirsty Hodgkins	76-73—149
T38.	Haley Nist	76-73—149
T52. 79.	Kelsey Webster Elle Otten	74-77—151 83-77—160
T80. T76. Individual	Malak Bouraeda Gillian Vance	86-75—161 79-79—158

TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
Rank	Name	Score
1.	Andrea Lee, Stanford	67-70—137
T2.	Jennifer Chang, Southern California	73-66—138
T2.	Kaitlyn Milligan, Oklahoma	68-70—138
T4.	Stephanie Lau, Northwestern	71-68—139
T4.	Olivia Mehaffrey, Arizona State	74-65—139

TEAM SCORES
Rank	Team	Score
1.	Stanford	287-284—571
2.	Arizona State	288-284—572
T3.	Southern California	293-287—580
T3.	Northwestern	295-284—580
T3.	Oklahoma	289-291—580
6.	Washington	293-291—584
7.	Oregon	290-298—588
T8.	Furman	293-298—591
T8.	UCLA	296-295—591
10.	Denver	297-299—596
T11. T11. 13. 14.	Georgia New Mexico Oklahoma State Colorado	301-299—600 300-300—600 300-304—604 309-298—607

Buffs Show Improvement, But Remain 14th at the PING/ASU Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Malak Bouraeda

Kirsty Hodgkins

Haley Nist

Elle Otten

Gillian Vance

Kelsey Webster