Moving up the leader board
xPALO ALTO, Calif. — The University of Arkansas women’s golf team shaved nine strokes off its opening round moving up the leader board at the 2010 NCAA West Regional Championship in Palo Alto, Calif., Friday.
Arkansas fired a second round 299, nine better than Thursday’s 308 for a 607. The Razorbacks were in 15th place when they came off the course.
“We got off to a really solid start today,” Arkansas head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor said. “We did falter a little bit coming down the stretch today but it was tough out there. The winds were blowing about 20 miles per hour and it made for some difficult conditions but we got a good round out of it.”
Arkansas had several good performances and was paced by senior Alex Schutle. Schulte, a Broken Arrow, Okla., native, counted a one-over 72 to pair with Thursday’s 78 for 150. She is tied for 28th overall.
Schulte was plus-three after a double on the 10th hole but she rallied with birdies on 13 and 17 to finish strong.
Senior Kristin Ingram counted a 74, nine strokes better than her opening round 83 and is in the clubhouse with a 157 for a tie for 80th place.
Ingram played the front nine plus-one and had two birdies in her round.
Senior Tiffany Phelps also improved shooting a second-round 76, bettering her opening 80 for a 156. She is tied for 73rd overall.
“Alex played awesome,” said Estes-Taylor. “She birdied 17 and pared 18, a tough finishing hole and shot one-over for us. Kristin did a great job for us today. It was a good comeback from yesterday’s round and Tiffany as well. It was a group effort.”
Freshman Victoria Vela has been solid with back-to-back 77s for 154 and a tie for 64th while junior Kelli Shean rounded out today’s scores with an 80 for 153 (73-80). Shean is tied for 58th overall
Arkansas is in 15th position overall with one round of golf remaining. The top eight from each of the three NCAA Regional sites advance to the 2010 NCAA Championship hosted by UNC-Wilmington.
Although that may seem like a lot of places to move up, Arkansas’ 607 is just eight strokes behind Iowa State who is sitting in eighth place with 599 after two rounds.
Seventh-ranked Arizona leads the field with a two-day 585 followed by No. 1 UCLA with 588. Number 6 Alabama is third with 595, followed by No. 13 Virginia in fourth with 596. There is a three-way tie for fifth between No. 24 California, No. 20 LSU and No. 32 Texas who are all in the club house with 597.
The rest of the field in front of Arkansas includes Iowa State in eight with 599, No. 17 Stanford, No. 25 Texas A&M and No. 36 UNLV all with 601, No. 45 San Jose State in 12th with 602, No. 12 Ohio State with 603 and Colorado State with 606.
“We’ve got to lay it on the line,” said Estes-Taylor. “We’re going to go out there with good positive attitudes and get after it. Swing with no fear and see what happens.
