March 21, 2008
Athens, Ga. (www.ucfathletics.com) - UCF women's golfer Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) was one of two golfers in a field of 96 to post scores under par in round-one action at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. Connelly posted a 71 (-1) to sit in second place overall after her opening 18 holes University of Georgia Golf Course on Friday.
The Knights are 12th in the team standings after combining for a 315 (+27) in the opening round. UCF trails top-ranked Duke (314, +26) by only one stroke in the team standings as LSU grabbed the first-round lead with a first round total of 297 (+9). The Tigers built their lead behind the strong play of Megan McChrystal, who fired a 69 (-3) to take the lead in the individual standings.
"The course played extremely tough for all of the teams today," UCF head coach Emilee Klein said. "We were solid from tee-to-green, but we just needed to make more putts."
Trailing LSU is a trio of teams logjammed in second after opening the 54-hole tournament with respective rounds of 302 (+14). That threesome includes sixth-ranked Purdue, tournament host and 13th-ranked Georgia as well as 14th-ranked Alabama.
Connelly is just two strokes behind McChrystal after making four birdies, including one on No. 18 that secured the second under-par score in her last three competitive rounds.
"Stephanie is playing really well right now," Klein added. "She has her confidence going and has been really steady these last couple of tournaments."
UCF junior May Tomimbang (Kissimmee, Fla.) and freshman Jessy Tang (Miami, Fla.) posted scores of 80 and 81, respectively to count towards the Knights' total.
Both sophomore Leigh Crosby (Athens, Ga.), who is playing this week in her home town, and freshman Katie Detlefsen (Eagan, Minn.) carded 83's in their respective opening rounds. Detlefsen was making her first appearance for the Knights in team play this spring.
Round two of the tournament is set for Saturday. Live scoring for the three-day event will be available on www.golfstat.com.
Team Leaderboard (Round One)1 LSU 297 (+9)2 Alabama 302 (+14) Purdue 302 (+14) Georgia 302 (+14)5 Auburn 303 (+15) Kent State 303 (+15)
Individual Leaderboard (Round One)1 Megan McChrystal (LSU) 69 (-3)2 Stephanie Connelly (UCF) 71 (-1)3 Candace Schepperle (Auburn) 72 (E)4 Leibelie Lawrence (Vanderbilt) 73 (+1)5 Six Players Tied 74 (+2)
UCF Players (Round One)2 Stephanie Connelly 71 (-1)51 May Tomimbang 80 (+8)68 Jessy Tang 81 (+9)80 Katie Detlefsen 83 (+11)80 Leigh Crosby 83 (+11)="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="https://ucfknights.com/http:%3E%3C/ahref="http:>="http:> For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
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