Sept. 23, 2005
FRANKLIN, Tenn. - The Auburn women's golf team sits in seventh place as the Tigers shot a 3-over 291 in the first round of the Mason Rudolph Championship held at the par 72, 7,200-yard Ironhorse Course at the Vanderbilt Legends Club Friday afternoon.
"We had a much better start at this tournament and I am proud of the way they came out today," Auburn head coach Kim Evans said. "The back nine were a little kinder to us than the front, but overall, this was a solid start. Tomorrow we need to focus on being consistent and try to take a few strokes off our score."
Senior Maria Martinez led the Tigers with a 3-under 69 on the day including four birdies, which ties her for third individually. Nicole Hage also hit under-par with a 1-under 71 for a 12th-place tie, followed by Margaret Shirley at 2-over 74 in a tie for 33rd, Abigale Schepperle at 5-over 77 in a tie for 56th and Jessica Lovell at 6-over 78, tied for 68th.
Individually, Auburn freshman Mariana Macias stands in a tie for 49th with a 4-over 76 performance on the day.
Host school Vanderbilt leads the pack firing a 9-under 279 on the day, led by teammates Jacqui Concolino and Liebelei Lawrence, who both carded a 4-under 68 to lead all individuals. Vanderbilt is trailed by Duke and Georgia, both at 3-under 285, Arizona State in fourth with a 1-under 287, Wake Forest in fifth at even par 288, UCLA at 2-over 290 in sixth and Arkansas tied with Auburn in seventh at 3-over 291.
Play at the Mason Rudolph Championship will continue through Sunday with Auburn teeing off at 8 a.m. CT, Saturday. Live action can be found on www.golfstat.com and daily recaps of Auburn's performance can be found on www.auburntigers.com.