Gonzaga University
Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown Day 1
WGOLF Begins Play at Las Vegas Collegiate Invite
10/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown Day 1 Results
BOULDER CITY, Nev.-The Gonzaga University women's golf squad began its final tournament of the fall Sunday, playing the first of three rounds of the Las Vegas Collegiate Invitational at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev.
Senior Raychelle Santos leads Gonzaga after firing her first under par round of the year. Santos shot 71 (-1) Sunday, collecting five birdies over the 18 holes to tie for 40th. The La Quinta, Calif., native has now played four tournament rounds on Boulder Creek Golf Club and has shot par or better during all four; she collected even-par 72s in all three rounds of last year's Las Vegas Collegiate Invite.
Finishing the day in second for GU, junior Ciera Min ended her round at even-par 72. Min struggled a bit early with six bogeys in her first nine holes, but a double-eagle on the Par 5 13th - Min's third hole of the day - and three birdies in her final nine brought her back to even. For her double eagle, Min hit a five wood from the fairway and was able to watch the shot roll into the hole on just her second stroke of the hole. Min is currently tied for 50th in the tournament.
Freshman Bianca Pagdanganan had a strong round going through 16 holes before playing her final two at three over par for a score of 73 (+1). She picked up four birdies on the day, three of which came on par 5s. She's tied for 66th.
Sophomore Dania Uy contributed the Bulldogs' final score that counted Sunday as she finished the round with a 2-over-par 74. Uy played steady most of the day, collecting 14 pars en route to her second lowest score of the season. The Antipolo, Philippines, native is tied for 73rd. Rounding out the Zags' lineup, freshman Jena Gao is tied for 103rd after an opening round 81 (+9).
"Raychelle played solidly from the first hole on today," said Gonzaga head coach Brad Rickel, "and Bianca had a good round going until the final two holes. Ciera had a rough first nine but worked hard to get back into it. After bogeys in her first two, Dania did well to play even the rest of the way."
Overall, Gonzaga posted a team score of 290, just two strokes over par. The tally is one stroke off the Zags' best team round of the year, but the Bulldogs are still in 18th on the leaderboard. Michigan and San Jose State lead the team contest with tallies of 275, 13 strokes below par, while the Spartans' My Leander currently holds medalist honors at 65 strokes (-7).
"The golf course was very playable today," said Rickel. "It was overcast, there was zero wind, and the greens were receptive. We had four good scores, but on this day you needed to have a couple of great scores. We will need to be better tomorrow if we want to climb back into it for the final round.
With just one round in the books, the Zags are within 10 strokes of 13 different teams. They'll look to move up the leaderboard during round two, which will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 26, again at Boulder Creek Golf Club.
