Gonzaga University
Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational Day 1
WGOLF Tees Off on New Season
9/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.-The Gonzaga University women's golf program started the 2015-16 season Monday by playing the first two rounds of the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational on the UNM Championship Course in Albuquerque.
"Today we looked like a team playing its first tournament of the year," said GU head coach Brad Rickel. "We played very well at times but had stretches where we just didn't get it done. We competed hard but made some uncharacteristic bogies when we should have made easy pars. Tomorrow, I look forward to us looking a little more polished and believe we will play our best round."
Freshman Bianca Pagdanganan began her collegiate career with a bang and finished with two solid rounds. She finished the day in a tie for eighth after turning in scores of 72 (-1) and 71 (-2) for a total of 143 (-3).
"I'm really happy with how Bianca played her first two rounds of collegiate golf," Rickel said of the freshman. "She was solid all day and handled the 11-hour, 36-hole day great. She was definitely our best player today from start to finish."
Junior Ciera Min and senior Raychelle Santos wrapped up the day within one stroke of each other as Min took 153 strokes (+7) and Santos took 154 (+8), good for ties for 57th and 64th, respectively. Min posted scores of 77 (+4) and 76 (+3) while Santos saw tallies of 76 (+3) and 78 (+5).
Two more players made their Gonzaga debuts Monday as freshman Jena Gao and senior Michelle Condry played their first rounds as a Bulldog. Gao shot 77 (+4) and 82 (+9) during her first day of collegiate golf, tying for 78th at 159 strokes (+159). Condry, meanwhile is tied for 86th with 161 strokes (+15). She shot 83 (+10) and 78 (+5) during her first two rounds in a Zag uniform. She transferred in from the University of San Francisco, where she played for the last four years.
As a team, the Zags are 14th with 605 strokes (+21), 10 strokes away from the top 10. Defending national champion Stanford is first with 566 strokes (-18), and the Cardinal's Mariah Stackhouse is the individual leader with a score of 140 (-6).
The Zags will wrap up the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational Tuesday, Sept. 15, with the tournament's third round. That will once again take place on the UNM Championship Course in Albuquerque.
