Gonzaga University
The Gold Rush Day 1
Zags Tee Off on Spring Season
2/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
SEAL BEACH, Calif.-The Gonzaga University women's golf team teed off on the spring season Monday, playing the first two rounds of The Gold Rush at Old Ranch Country Club in Seal Beach, Calif.
Freshman Bianca Pagdanganan is on pace for her second top-10 finish of the year after ending the day tied for seventh. The Quezon City, Philippines native counted 146 strokes (+2) on the day after shooting 71 (-1) during the morning round and 75 (+3) in the afternoon. That morning round was her team-leading sixth at or below par of the 2015-16 season.
"Bianca was good all day," said Gonzaga head coach Brad Rickel. "She hit great shots and had the chances to go low. She needs to make good decisions tomorrow and eliminate three-putts."
A pair of Zags are tied for 43rd in the field as both Ciera Min and Jena Gao counted 154 strokes (+10) during Monday's two rounds. Min posted rounds of 75 (+3) and 79 (+7) on the day while Gao shot 76 (+4) and 78 (+6) during the morning and afternoon loops, respectively. Min leads the team and is tied for fourth overall with 26 holes at par for the tournament.
Just two strokes back of Min and Gao sits senior Raychelle Santos. Santos cut two strokes off her morning round tally, shooting 79 (+7) during the first 18 holes and 77 (+5) during the second. She's tied at 156 strokes (+12) and in 50th place along with five other competitors.
Sophomore Dania Uy rounds out the Zags' lineup as she is tied for 70th after the first day of The Gold Rush. Uy too cut strokes during the afternoon, taking 79 shots (+7) to complete the course during her second loop, four fewer than the first round. Uy has a two-round total of 162 (+18).
As a team, Gonzaga is in 10th place with a cumulative total of 610 (+34). They're just three strokes out of sixth place heading into Tuesday's final round.
"The team showed some signs of rust in our competitive tournament games," Rickel said. "We played hard all day but just hit too many errant shots and missed too many putts. We have to continue to tighten up our loose ends and bring our competitive spirit up."
Top-ranked USC holds a commanding lead as they're up 16 strokes on No. 2 Fresno State. The Trojans have a two-round score of 571 (-5). The individual leaderboard is headlined by Trojans as well as USC's Robynn Ree leads the medalist chase with 141 strokes (-3). In all, Trojans occupy the first four spots on in the individual competition and have another player tied for fifth.
This is the Zags' fourth time at The Gold Rush in the last five years. They won the event in Feb. 2014 â€" the last time they played in the Long Beach State-hosted tournament â€" while former Bulldog Alice Kim took medalist honors. That tournament was held at Yorba Linda Country Club, however, and not its current 6,097-yard, par-72 course at Old Ranch CC.
The Zags wrap up their first tournament of the spring on Tuesday, Feb. 23. They'll begin the third round of The Gold Rush at 8:00 a.m. with a shotgun start.
