Zags Charge into Team Lead at WCCs
4/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Day Two Results | Day Two Video Recap | Interview with Ciera Min | Tournament Central
SOMIS, Calif.—The Gonzaga University women's golf team climbed up the leaderboard Tuesday, replacing Pepperdine atop the West Coast Conference Championship standings as Ciera Min took the individual lead on day two of the tournament held at Saticoy Country Club in Somis, Calif.
Min carded the only round under par on Tuesday, shooting 2-under-par 70. The sophomore made six birdies on the day - three on each half of the course - and now has the most overall birdies made in the tournament at seven. After her tournament-low round, Min has 151 strokes (+7) on the tournament and is one shot ahead of second place. She started the round in a tie for 13th,
Teammate Alice Kim is one of the two players just one stroke behind Min and tied for second. Kim cut four strokes off her first round for a second round total of 74 (+2) on the strength of two back-nine birdies. The defending conference champion is in strong position to potentially take back the title and even with San Francisco's Emelie Lundstrom at 152 (+8) through two rounds.
One more Bulldog is in the top five as Han Wu shot her second consecutive 77 (+5) Tuesday. The senior once again played consistent golf, parring 13 holes en route to the score. She and Lundstrom lead the tournament with 25 total pars. Wu is also in strong contention for an All-WCC bid as the La Miranda, Calif., native is tied for fifth with one other player at 154 (+10).
Also scoring for Gonzaga Tuesday, Dania Uy shot 83 (+11) during the second round. The freshman shot three over par for the first nine holes then saw an exciting finish to the round, shooting two birdies and one par en route to the score. Uy is 20th with a tournament score of 164, 20 strokes above par.
Rounding out the GU lineup, Raychelle Santos is 24th with a two-round total of 170 (+26). The junior carded a pair of birdies and four pars during the second round before finishing at 89 (+17). She is one of four Zags with at least four birdies in the tournament, tied for fifth in that particular category.
"We used our experience from the first round to improve our plan today," said GU women's golf head coach Brad Rickel. "Ciera played an amazing round of golf, while Alice has been very solid working her way around the course. Han has fought very hard and made many tough pars. Our best quality today was our determination on this difficult course."
As a team, the Zags used that determination to turn in the lowest team score of the tournament, a tally of 304 (+16). Ranked #50 according to Golf Stat, the Zags hold a two-stroke lead over #20 Pepperdine, who's second at 623 (+47). The Waves counted 312 strokes (+24) on the day. In third place, San Francisco is five strokes back of the Zags at 626 (+50), and Santa Clara is fourth at 630 (+54). BYU rounds out the team leaderboard and is fifth with 640 strokes (+64).
Min, Kim, and Lundstrom make up the top three golfers with Kim and Lundstrom tied for second. The Cougars' Alex White is fourth in the individual race with a two-day total of 153 (+9), while Pepperdine's Marissa Chow, the 17th-ranked player in Division I according to Golf Stat, is tied with Wu at fifth. Players from San Francisco, Pepperdine, and Santa Clara round out the top 10.
Gonzaga will look to claim its first ever WCC title on Wednesday, April 15. The Bulldogs will tee off on the final round starting at 9:15 a.m. Min, the last Zag to begin play, will take to the course at 9:59 a.m. All five players will tee off No. 1, again at Somis Country Club.
