May 5, 2011
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The No. 13 Auburn women's golf team carded a first-round 302 at the NCAA East Regional, finishing the day in a tie for 11th in the 24-team field. Freshman Marta Sanz was the top Tiger on Thursday, finishing in a tie for 19th with a 1-over 73.
The NCAA East Regional is a 54-hole stroke play event hosted by Stetson University at LPGA International's Legends Course. The par-72 course is playing at 6,721 yards for the three-day tournament.
The NCAA East Regional is one of three qualifying tournaments for the NCAA Championship, set for May 18-21 at the Traditions Club at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. The top eight teams from each of the three regionals will advance to the NCAA Championship.
The NCAA Central Regional is taking place at Warren Golf Course, hosted by Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana, while the NCAA West Regional is being played at the Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Wash., hosted by the University of Washington.
"We were close today, a little slow coming out of the gate, but I thought we did a good job of re-grouping and getting back on course," said Auburn head coach Kim Evans. "Despite having a rough day, we are still very much in it and we are really looking forward to tomorrow."
The Tigers started the day on No. 10 and shot 9-over on the back nine. Auburn got back on track on the front, shooting 5-over.
Marta Sanz, Auburn's lone freshman in the lineup, was 3-under at one point, but four bogeys in her last nine holes dropped her to a team-best 1-over 73 and a tie for 19th after the first round. Junior Haley Wilson finished just two strokes behind her with a 3-over 75, finishing the day in a tie for 39th.
Junior Patricia Sanz and senior Cydney Clanton both carded 5-over 77s in the first round, placing in a tie for 69th. Clanton played 17 of the holes at 1-over par, but was stuck with a quad on No. 18 that dropped her to 5-over.
Rounding out the lineup was sophomore Carlie Yadloczky with a 6-over 78. She finished the day in a tie for 85th in the 126-player field.
In the team race, Coastal Carolina has the first-round lead with a 2-under-par 286, followed by Alabama with a 287 and California with an even-par 288. North Carolina is in fourth with a 5-over 293 while Arizona State and defending NCAA Champion Purdue are tied for fifth with 7-over 295s. Rounding out the top eight are Michigan State and Florida State in a tie for seventh with 9-over 297s.
With the top eight teams advancing to the NCAA Championship, Auburn stands just five strokes out of the top eight heading into the second round.
In the individual race, Florida State's Jessica Negron and Coastal Carolina's Jessica Alexander are tied for first with 3-under 69s. Catherine O'Donnell (North Carolina), Daniela Holmqvist (California) and Sofia Hagsund (UNC Wilmington) are tied for third with 2-under 70s. In all, there are 18 players at even-par or better.
Action at the NCAA East Regional is set to continue at 7 a.m. CT, Friday with tee times off the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. Auburn is set to go off in the second wave of tee times, taking to the course from 12:26 - 1:10 p.m. CT, off the No. 1 tee. Auburn will play alongside Arizona State and Michigan State.
Fans can follow all the action from the NCAA East Regional with live stats at www.GolfStat.com.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- First-round results from the NCAA East Regional Championship hosted by Stetson University at the LPGA International Legends Course. Par: 72. Yardage: 6,271.
TEAM RESULTS
1 - Coastal Carolina - 286 (-2)
2 - Alabama - 287 (-1)
3 - California - 290 (+2)
4 - North Carolina - 293 (+5)
T5 - Arizona State - 295 (+7)
T5 - Purdue - 295 (+7)
T7 - Michigan State - 297 (+9)
T7 - Florida State - 297 (+9)
9 - Florida - 298 (+10)
10 - Louisville - 301 (+13)
T11 - Auburn - 302 (+14)
T11 - Augusta State - 302 (+14)
T11 - Vanderbilt - 302 (+14)
T11 - Texas Christian - 302 (+14)
15 - Mississippi - 303 (+15)
T16 - North Carolina-Wilmington - 304 (+16)
T16 - Stetson - 304 (+16)
T18 - Colorado - 306 (+18)
T18 - Kentucky - 306 (+18)
20 - Yale - 310 (+22)
21 - Florida International - 311 (+23)
22 - Fairleigh Dickinson - 312 (+24)
23 - Texas Tech - 316 (+28)
24 - Alabama State - 334 (+46)
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T19 - Marta Sanz - 73 (+1)
T39 - Haley Wilson - 75 (+3)
T69 - Patricia Sanz - 77 (+5)
T69 - Cydney Clanton - 77 (+5)
T85 - Carlie Yadloczky - 78 (+6)