TUCSON, Ariz. — The Colorado women's golf team is tied for sixth after the first two rounds of the Arizona Wildcat Invitational on Monday. The Buffaloes finished the day with a 17-over 593 (298-295) and are tied with Iowa State.
 
"We made a really good finish," head coach Anne Kelly said. "I think we made 14 birdies in the last nine holes. That was a good finish and I'm proud of the way they fought. We were playing okay, but as a team, through two rounds we had eight doubles and three triples.
 
"We need to focus on making good decisions and sticking to them with each shot. They are a good team and it's frustrating for all of us because we are not playing up to our level at all. But like I said, a lot of good things happened coming in today and that was very encouraging."
 
Arizona, the 10^th-ranked team in the nation, has a commanding lead as the Wildcats carded an 18-under 558 at the 6,627-yard, par 72 Sewailo Golf Course. The Wildcats shot 8-under in the first round and then were 10-under in the second. The next closest team to UA is New Mexico State (581). Oregon is third (582), while Fresno State is fourth (589). Long Beach State (592) rounds out the top five and is just one stroke ahead of CU and ISU.
 
After the first day, the Buffs have a trio of athletes in the top-20. Senior Kirsty Hodgkins is 16^th, while freshman Ellie Gower and sophomore Alisha Lau are tied for 17^th.
 
Hodgkins shot an even 72 in the first round and followed it up with a 3-over 75 in the second round for a 2-over 144. She started the day on No. 5 and made six consecutive pars. Hodgkins shot a bogey on No. 11, but rebounded with a birdie on the par 4 No. 12 to come back to even. After back-to-back pars on the next two holes, she again hit a bogey, which was followed up with another birdie. Hodgkins stayed even through the back nine, making two more pars. With four holes left in the round, she started the front nine with a birdie, which was followed by her 11^th and 12^th pars of the day. She wrapped up the round with a bogey on the par 4 No. 4.
 
Her second round did not go quite as well. She recorded two pars to start, but shot a double-bogey on a par-3 No. 7. Hodgkins followed it up with a birdie. Three holes later she was back at even for the round after recording two pars and another birdie. Through the next seven holes, she saw her score increase as she shot three bogeys and four pars. Hodgkins was 3-over as she made the turn back to the front and finished her day with two pars, one birdie and another bogey.
 
"Kirsty was really striking the ball well; she just struggled a little bit with her putter," Kelly said.
 
Gower, like Hodgkins, shot an even 72 in the first round and carded a 4-over 76 in the second to finish the day with a 4-over 148. She had an incredible start to the day. Beginning on No. 8, she made back-to-back pars. As she started on the back nine, she sank a pair of birdies before carding a bogey on No. 12. She rebounded with another two straight birdies to sit at 3-under, which is where she stayed for the next four holes. She stumbled a bit as she went back to the front nine, hitting a double on a par 4 No. 1. Gower found her way back to 2-under with her fifth birdie of the round, but was unable to hang on and finished the round making three pars and two bogeys.
 
"Ellie Gower really had a round going this morning, but then had a little trouble on her back nine," Kelly said.
 
Gower had trouble early in the second round. After making par on the first two holes, she recorded a triple-bogey on No. 10. She made par on the following three holes, but a bogey on No. 14 put her 4-over. Gower continued to work and held steady with another four pars. With seven holes remaining, she took to the front nine and sank a birdie on No. 1 and made par on No. 2. But consecutive bogeys put her at 5-over. She was able to lower her score to 4-over with a birdie on the final hole.
 
Lau shot rounds of 75 and 73 for her 4-over 148. Through her first nine holes, she hit four bogeys and made five pars, which put her at 4-over. Her second nine were better. She made par on her 10^th hole and sank a birdie in two of the next three holes to put her at 2-over. She finished the round with four pars and another bogey.
 
Her second round saw her get out to a slow start with two bogeys in the first five holes. Sitting at 2-over, she recorded six straight pars before scoring a birdie on No. 17. Lau made par on the next three holes to stay at 2-over before picking up her third birdie of the round on No. 3. Unfortunately, she carded a bogey on No. 4 before she finished the round with a par on No. 5.
 
Sophomore Malak Bouraeda is tied for 31^st overall. She carded a 79 in the first round, but bounced back with a 71 in the second round for a 6-over 150. In the first 18, Bouraeda recorded one birdie and 12 pars, in addition to three bogeys. Her downfall was the double on the par 4 No. 9 and the triple on the par 4 No. 17.
 
Her second 18 was much better. Through her first 10 holes, she made nine pars and one bogey. Her following two holes saw her record a pair bogeys, which put her at 3-over. But Bouraeda kept working and finished the round strong with two pars and four birdies, one of which came on her final hole to put her at 1-under.
 
Freshman Sophie Johnson finished the day at 14-over (158). She carded a 10-over 82 through the first 18 holes and a 4-over 76 in the next 18. Johnson was the only Buff to record an eagle on the day, which put her at three for the season. It came on the par 5 No. 6, her 16^th hole of the first round.  The rest of her first round included one birdie, seven pars, six bogeys, two double and one triple. Johnson's second round saw her sink four birdies while making eight pars in addition to four bogeys and two doubles.
 
Playing as an individual, freshman Issy Simpson had a decent day. She carded 4-over 76 in both rounds. She recorded 10 pars, two birdies and six bogeys in the first round and followed it up with three birdies, nine pars, five bogeys and one double in the second round. She is currently tied for 41^st.
 
Arizona is not only in the team lead, but the individual lead as the top-five individuals are Wildcats. Vivian Hou and Kailie Vongsaga are tied for first as they both carded an 8-under 136. Gile Bite Starkute is third (139) and Hollie Muse and Yu-Sang Hou are tied for fourth (141).
 
The second day of action starts Tuesday. Live results are available at golfstat.com.
 
 

BUFFALO INDIVIDUALS
Rank	Name		Score
16.	Kirsty Hodgkins		72-75—147
T17.	Alisha Lau		75-73—148
T17.	Ellie Gower		72-76—148
T31.	Malak Bouraeda		79-71—150
T40.	*Issy Simpson		76-76—152
T59.	Sophie Johnson		82-76—158
(*—played as an individual)
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS
Rank	Name		Score
T1.	*Kailie Vongsaga, Arizona		68-68—136
T1.	Vivian Hou, Arizona		67-69—136
3.	Gile Bite Starkute, Arizona		69-70—139
T4.	Ya Chun Chang, Arizona		73-68—141
T4.	Hollie Muse, Arizona		73-68—141
(*—played as an individual)
TEAM SCORES
Rank	Team		Score
1.	Arizona		280-278—558
2.	New Mexico State		299-282—581
3.	Oregon		293-289—582
4.	Fresno State		302-289—591
5.	Long Beach State		300-292—592
T6.	Iowa State		299-294—593
T6.	Colorado		298-295—593
8.	Denver		298-297—595
9.	Tulane		308-296—604
10.	UNLV		305-300—605
11.	New Mexico		307-299—606