Griz golfers endure 36-hole day
9/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Golf
The University of Montana women???s golf team dropped 18 strokes in its second round of a 36-hole day in the Circling raven invite in Worley Idaho Monday.?? Sophomore Olivia Weber was responsible for over half the second-round drop, going from 80 to 70 with an eight stroke improvement over the same course.
The UM sophomore jumped from the middle of the pack to 14th, with the third-best final round of the day, even birdying her final hole.
The Grizzly team logged a score of 317 in round one, a full 16 strokes behind then tournament leader Oregon State, which carded 301. The Grizzlies then rallied over the final 18 holes to turn in a round of 299, fourth best for the day.?? In doing so, the Grizzlies launched from 16th place to ninth, passing such powerhouses as Boise State and UC Riverside.
At the end of play Monday, the Grizzlies sat just one point shy of Nevada, which Montana out-shot by 10 strokes in the second round.
Northern Arizona took the tournament victory in the 2009 event. Given the presence of top-100 schools University of San Francisco, BYU and Nevada, it appeared as if the Lumberjacks were going to have to relinquish their title and podium finish in the 2010 event. It was not to be so. The Flagstaff team followed up a round of 302 with 299 good for 601 and a second-place holding with two-thirds of the tournament completed.
Big Sky champion Portland State handed in the best round of the day, a 296 and holds the third place team spot with 607, behind NAU and leader BYU, which scored 600 in the first two rounds.
Portland State athlete Tiffany Schoening handed in a second round of 69, tying for a tournament-low round and combining with her first round of 75 for the leading score of 144. Big Sky MVP Stephanie Kim of NAU holds a close second, with rounds of 71 and 74. Victoria Fallgren of host school Gonzaga handed in a 69 as well, and is tied with Kim for the second podium spot with Katrina Hegge of San Francisco making it a three way tie.
Weber??? second round of 70 was third-best single round of the event and earned her a 14th place standing with 150 total. Her teammate Lauren Howell rallied in her second round as well, going from 78 to 74 for a 150 and 22nd overall.
The Montana team including Carissa Simmons, Ashli Helstrom, Lauren Howell and Rose Stepanek will continue Tuesday in the 18-hole final.
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???Following play Monday, UM coach Joanne Steele said, ???I think the bg difference between rounds one and two was that we settled down and played with more confidence.?? With an 11 hour day on the course, it was great to drop 18 strokes. That kind of perseverance shows a great amount of focus and maturity.
Senior Carissa Simmons dropped three strokes between round one and two for her part in the team score. She described the 36-hole format saying, ???From one round to the next, you are playing the exact same course, so the focus is just to correct those mistakes that you made in round one.?? I think that fatigue is only an issue if you make it so. You just can???t admit it to yourself and need to avoid negative self-talk.?? Golf is a mental game and it is a challenge to take on an 11 hour day with a positive outlook.??? ??
