April 14, 2008
El Paso, Texas (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF women's golf team used a strong collective effort on the back nine to move into a tie second place following round one of the Texas Roadhouse Conference USA Championship on Monday at the Butterfield Trail Golf Club. The Knights posted a team score of 303 (+15) on the 6,294-yard layout to trail Southern Miss (301, +13) by only two strokes after 18 holes of the three-round event.
The Knights were 15-over par following the opening nine holes of the tournament, but played even-par golf on the backside to share second with No. 36 East Carolina and host UTEP.
"You can score well on the back nine at this golf course and we did that," head coach Emilee Klein said. "We started out rough and played very average for us on the front side. But, we came back and played like we know how to on the back. This team wants to win and I think the desire to do that is going to carry them through these next two rounds."
All five golfers for the 42nd-ranked Knights improved their scores from the front to the back nine to put the team back towards the top of the leaderboard. Only four shots separate the top five teams in the field. Tulsa, the highest-ranked league team entering the field at No. 30, sits in fifth and is only one-shot behind the trio of teams in second place after posting a team total of 304 (+16).
UCF freshman Jessy Tang (Miami, Fla.) overcame a triple-bogey on the second hole to post a 74 (+2), which has her tied for sixth in the individual standings. Tang made three birdies on the back nine to post a one-under score of 35. Junior Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) also made three birdies on the back nine on her way to a 75 (+3). Connelly, who placed fourth in this event a year ago, is tied for eighth with five other golfers.
Junior May Tomimbang (Kissimmee, Fla.), sophomore Leigh Crosby (Athens, Ga.) and freshman Katie Detlefsen (Eagan, Minn.) each registered a 77 (+5) for the Knights in the opening round of play. The threesome is among a seven-way tie for 19th. Detlefsen, who fired her best round of the spring season, and Tomimbang were both even on the back nine after opening their respective rounds with a 41 on the front. Crosby was just one-over on the back after posting a 40 on the front.
The Knights led the field with 14 birdies as 10 of those came during the Knights' back-nine surge. Connelly and Tang each led the team with four birdies on their scorecards. Tang is only two shots behind a trio of leaders, who each shot even-par rounds of 72.
Round two of the tournament is set for Tuesday. Live scoring for the three-day event will be available on www.golfstat.com.
Team Leaderboard (Round One)Southern Miss 301 (+13)UCF 303 (+15)East Carolina 303 (+15)UTEP 303 (+15)Tulsa 304 (+16)UAB 306 (+18)SMU 308 (+20)Memphis 309 (+21)Marshall 316 (+28)
Individual Leaderboard (Round One)1 Jaime Brabb (UAB) 72 (E) Leisl Houbrouck (Tulsa) 72 (E) Clara Viladomiu (Southern Miss) 72 (E)4 Abby Bools (East Carolina) 73 (+1) Alexa Porter (Memphis) 73 (+1)
UCF Players (Round One)T6 Jessy Tang 74 (+2)T8 Stephanie Connelly 75 (+3)T19 May Tomimbang 77 (+5)T19 Katie Detlefsen 77 (+5)T19 Leigh Crosby 77 (+5)
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