May 10, 2007
ST. GEORGE, UTAH -
The University of Memphis women's golf team is in 18th place after turning in a 36-over 320 in Thursday's opening round of the NCAA West Regional hosted by BYU at Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club.
Senior Stacey Tate was the Lady Tigers' leader today, firing a three-over 74 that featured three birdies. She finished the day tied for 23rd overall. Junior Meghan Mahoney turned in a score of 80 (+9) which ranks her 74th through the first round of competition.
"We played the first 12 holes very strong today," said Head Coach Jenny Bruun. "We started to make mistakes, whether it was a bad decision or getting a bad break on a shot, on holes 13 through 18 and that resulted in a high score today."
"I am very proud of the team's effort this afternoon," added Bruun. "This is a very difficult and demanding golf course and if you lose concentration you can turn in some big numbers. We have to believe in everything we do and focus tomorrow so that we can get back into contention."
Junior Dawn-Marie Conaty carded an 11-over 82 and senior Kathryn O'Rourke tallied a 13-over 84. Sophomore Rachel Larson rounded out the Lady Tigers' effort with a 16-over 87.
The course proved to be challenging as only eight of the 107 golfers carded scores of even par or better. Oklahoma State's Pernilla Lindberg is the tournament leader after firing a 3-under 68. OSU, which is tied for second with host BYU, has a second golfer in the top five as Amanda Johnson is tied for third after tallying a 1-under 70.
Stanford leads the field after turning in a 3-over 287 with the help of Jennifer Tangtiphaiboontana who ranks second after shooting a two-under 69. BYU and Oklahoma State are tied for second with a seven-over 291. Arizona State and UC Irvine are one stroke apart and round out the top five with scores of 294 and 295, respectively.
Second-round play resumes on Friday and the 19th-seeded Lady Tigers, who are grouped with Sacramento State and Columbia, will tee off at 8:50 a.m. MDT.
"We need to be more consistent tomorrow and I know this team is looking forward to getting back out there and competing," said Bruun. "We have now seen the course twice and know better what to expect. Ideally, we would like to have all five players in the 70s so we can get back into this competition."
