Michigan
NCAA Central Regional
Freshmen, Broderick Pace U-M on First Day of Regional
5/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Playing on its home course, the University of Michigan women's golf team opened action at the NCAA Central Regional Championships with a team round of 311 Thursday (May 10) and is tied for 16th place with Oral Roberts after the first day of the three-day, 54-hole event at the U-M Golf Course. Twenty-one schools are vying for the regional's eight team berths in the national tournament.
U-M freshmen Ashley Bauer (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc HS) and Andrea Ratigan (Tucson, Ariz./Sabino HS) put together solid rounds in their NCAA postseason debuts, with Bauer shooting 76 and Ratigan adding a 78 on the par-71, 6,116-yard setup. Senior Brianna Broderick (Richmond, Mo./Richmond HS) shot 77, while senior Ali Stinson (Penticton, B.C./Penticton Secondary) and junior Lindsay Davis (Dexter, Mich./Dexter HS) carded rounds of 80 and 81, respectively.
After persistent rain drenched Wednesday's practice rounds and softened the course, 10 teams managed to break 300 in the opening round, paced by first-day leader Southern Cal. As was the norm Thursday, the Trojans played significantly better on the front nine, shooting eight under par as a team, and then hung on during the second nine to finish at 283 (-1) for a six-stroke edge. Indiana and TCU share second place at 289 (+5), one shot ahead of Vanderbilt.
Nine individuals bettered par in the first round, led by Vanderbilt's Jacqui Concolino, who birdied both par 3s on the front and made six birdies total on the way to a four-under 67 (33-34). Georgia's Taylor Leon, TCU's Catherine Matranga, and Southern Cal's Belen Mozo are one shot back after each made four birdies and one bogey en route to 68.
An NCAA Regional host for the first time in program history, Michigan appeared to be in good shape two-thirds of the way through its round, but the final five holes were not kind to the Wolverines. U-M's top four individuals played the final five holes a collective 16 over par to finish with a 311 (+27) team score.
Bauer, who opened her first NCAA round with a birdie on the par-5 first hole, was the only Wolverine to break 40 on the par-35 second nine, as she birdied the par-4 13th before bogeying three of the last five holes for her round of 76 (39-37).
Broderick opened her round with back-to-back bogeys but birdied the par-5 third and par-3 fifth holes to get back to even. Consecutive bogeys on 9 and 10 and a bogey, bogey, double bogey stretch on holes 14-16 dropped her to six over par, but Broderick recovered nicely from wayward drives to par the final two holes and shoot 77 (37-40).
After starting her round with bogeys on three of the first four holes, Ratigan was even par over the next 10 holes, making a birdie 2 on the eighth hole and a bogey on the 10th. The closing stretch bit her as well, however, as she went bogey, double bogey, bogey on 15-17 before parring the 18th for her 78 (38-40). Ratigan's score bettered by five shots her previous low round in competition on the U-M Golf Course (83 in the opening round of last fall's Wolverine Invitational).
Stinson converted birdies on the par-4 second and 13th holes and was four over par with five holes left but played the final four holes in five over par for her round of 80 (39-41), while Davis had four bogeys and a double in the last seven holes to finish at 81 (40-41).
Action resumes Friday morning with the same team pairings as Thursday, and Michigan, Missouri and Southern Methodist will go off the 10th tee from 8 to 8:40 a.m. Teams will be re-paired for Saturday's final round based on 36-hole results.
Team Standings (After Day 1)
1. Southern California 283 (-1) 2. Indiana 289 TCU 289 4. Vanderbilt 290 5. Arkansas 291 6. Georgia 292 7. Tennessee 294 8. Michigan State 295 9. Kent State 297 Arizona 297 11. Ohio State 300 12. Southern Methodist 303 13. Northwestern 308 14. UNC Wilmington 309 15. Missouri 310 16. MICHIGAN 311 Oral Roberts 311 18. Baylor 312 19. Maryland 313 20. Southern Illinois 314 21. St. Francis (Pa.) 342
Top Individuals
1. Jacqui Concolino, Vanderbilt 67 (-4) 2. Taylor Leon, Georgia 68 Catherine Matranga, TCU 68 Belen Mozo, Southern Cal 68 5. Dewi Schreefel, Southern Cal 69 Nicole Smith, Tennessee 69 7. Anita Gahir, Indiana 70 Stacy Lewis, Arkansas 70 Paola Moreno, Southern Cal 70 10. Elin Emanuelsson, TCU 71 Mandi McConnell, Michigan State 71 Pamela Ontiveros, Oral Roberts 71
Michigan Individual Scores
T44. Ashley Bauer 76 T62. Brianna Broderick 77 T72. Andrea Ratigan 78 T82. Ali Stinson 80 T88. Lindsay Davis 81
Contact: Tom Wywrot (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
