WGOLF Tees Off at NCAA Regionals
5/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Complete Results | Tournament Central
SAN ANTONIO, Texas—The Gonzaga University women's golf team teed off at its third consecutive NCAA Regional tournament Thursday, playing round one of three at Briggs Ranch Golf Club in San Antonio, Texas.
Senior Alice Kim leads the way for Gonzaga after shooting a two-under-par 70, her second-lowest round of the year. She played a steady front nine, parring eight holes and birdying No. 14. On her back nine - the first nine holes of Briggs Ranch as the Zags teed off on No. 10 - Kim posted two more birdies, three pars, three bogeys, and an eagle. The Honolulu, Hawaii native needed just three strokes to hole out on the 492-yard par 5 fifth hole, putting her back under par for the round. She's tied for 14th with 10 other players and is just one stroke back of a position that could advance to the NCAA Championships.
Next up for Gonzaga, sophomore Ciera Min saw a tremendous start to her round, birdying three of her first four holes. She made the turn at 2-under-par but picked up three bogeys in her final seven holes to end at 73 (+1). She's in a seven-way tie for 39th and two strokes away from the top 25.
"Alice was very good today," said Gonzaga head coach Brad Rickel. "She hit the ball solidly and had a great determination about her. Ciera had a fantastic start. [She] was three under and could have been four or five. She fought hard after that but just had a few putts not fall."
Junior Raychelle Santos also saw a decent start to her round, posting seven pars through the first nine holes. She added four more in the final nine and ended at 7-over-par 79. She stayed consistent throughout the 18 holes, never posting anything higher than a bogey all day. She's tied for 83rd.
Han Wu, playing in the third position for Gonzaga after spending the last five tournaments at No. 5, saw a tough opening round after catching some bad breaks. The senior shot 12-over-par 84 and is tied for 92nd. Freshman Dania Uy also saw a rough go of it, taking 96 strokes (+24) to traverse the 6,350-yard track. She's in 96th.
"Raychelle played hard today. I'm proud of how she competed and is showing signs of good golf to come," said Rickel. "The ball just didn't bounce Han's way today; it seemed like she ended up in tough places over and over. We have to be better tomorrow and have all five players committed to their rounds."
As a team, Gonzaga is in 17th with a cumulative score of 306, 18 strokes above par. The Bulldogs are within 10 strokes of five teams, however, including two ranked squads in No. 19 Arizona State and No. 46 Houston. No. 14 Tennessee leads the team competition with a 12-under-par 276, and 43rd-ranked Texas is sixth at 1-under-par 287. The top six teams will advance to the NCAA Championships in two weeks.
Individually, Kansas' Yupaporn Kawinpakorn and Baylor's Hayley Davis are tied for medalist honors at 5-under-par 67. Kawinpakorn, Florida State's Morgane Metraux (4-under 68) and Oregon's Kelsey Ulep (3-under 68) are currently the three that would advance to the NCAA Championships as individuals.
Gonzaga will tee off on the second round starting at 7:09 a.m. Pacific (9:09 a.m. local). Uy will be the first Bulldog out on the course, and the Zags will again tee off of No. 10.
