Alabama
NCAA Championship
Crimson Tide 11th After Opening Round of NCAA Golf Championship
5/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
May 18, 2011
BRYAN, Texas - The University of Alabama women's golf team found a much different golf course than the one it mastered last fall to win the Fall Preview during the first round of the 2011 NCAA Women's Golf Championship on Wednesday at the Traditions Club.
The wind gusted to 27 mph on the par-72, 6,260-yard layout that has seen one rainfall in the past 116 days. The hard and fast tract did not allow any team to break par and yielded a 13-over-par 301 for the third-ranked Crimson Tide who enter Thursday's second round in 11th position.
"It was a tough day and we didn't execute well," Alabama head coach Mic Potter said. "When you make a mistake in this wind it is amplified. But it's (this tournament) 72 holes and there is a lot of golf left. We typically have not started well all year, and have been very good in the second round. We anticipate getting out here in the morning when it's fresh and getting back to being ourselves."
UCLA holds the team lead at 1-over-par 289 after two Bruin players carded under-par rounds to finish the opening day in the top five. Virginia is in second place at 3-over-par 291 with the Cavs Brittany Altomare leading individually at 3-under-par 69. Purdue and LSU are tied for third at 4-over 292 with Florida rounding out the top five at 6-over 294. Host Texas A&M is in sixth place at 295 (+7).
Senior Camilla Lennarth paced the Tide with an even-par round of 72 to enter the second round tied for 10th. She birdied the first hole of the day and reeled off seven pars before doubling the ninth hole. Lennarth responded with back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th holes but closed with a three-putt bogey on the 18th.
After Lennarth, Stephanie Meadow was next for the Tide, finishing with a 3-over 75 and a tie for 42nd position. Sophomore Jennifer Kirby made the turn at 1-over par but bogeys on the 10th, 11th and 17th holes dropped her into a tie for 57th at 4-over 76.
"Certainly expectations were high and maybe too high," Potter said. "Sometimes you have to battle your way through that (expectations), and battle your way through adversity. Truly good teams are the ones that are able to overcome adversity. Everyone is going to have it at one point or another this week, hopefully we just had it early."
Junior Brooke Pancake shot 6-over 78 to count as the Crimson Tide's fourth score in a tie for 79th while freshman Hannah Collier fired a 7-over 79 and is tied for 95th.
Alabama will again play with UCLA and Southern California in Thursday's second round. The pairings will begin teeing off at 8 a.m. for the 10th tee.
Players Mentioned
