SHSU, UCA tied for first place in SLC women's golf
4/19/2010 2:29:00 PM | Women's Golf
By Gene Schallenberg Huntsville Item
HUNTSVILLE - In the comforts of their own backyard, the Sam Houston State women's golf team wanted to treat Monday morning's round like any other qualifying round.
Playing with a sense of ease, the Bearkat women played some of their best golf of the spring. As a result, Sam Houston sits atop the leaderboard alongside Central Arkansas with a 9-over-par 293 after the first round of the Southland Conference Women's Golf Championship at Raven Nest Golf Club.
"We just had a clear mind-set that we wanted to shoot well in the first round and get a good lead," SHSU freshman Shelby Hardy said. "We just wanted to play safe today. That was our main goal and focus because we have a pretty good (home-course) advantage over everybody.
"Today was a bar-raiser for us. Now we know we can shoot low. We're going to be pushing ourselves to shoot lower."
Leading the charge for Sam Houston on the first day of the three-day tournament was a pair of freshmen - Hardy and Meghan Musk.
After bogeying Nos. 7 and 9, Musk caught fire on the back nine. Musk birdied the 12th hole and then the final two holes to finish with a 1-under-par 70, which was a personal best at Raven Nest. That tied with Central Arkansas' Rebecca Sorensen for the overall lead in the individual standings.
"I was nervous the first couple of holes, but I started out pretty well," Musk said. "I was even until the seventh hole. As I got into my groove, it just felt like a qualifying round. I just kept playing and took it one shot at a time."
Hardy bogeyed three of the first four holes, but recovered and shot 1 under par in the final 14 holes, including a birdie on the 458-yard, par-5 18th.
"I was 3-over after four, so I started out a little rocky," said Hardy, who is tied for sixth place with a 2-over 73. "I got a little nervous at the beginning, but then I shook it off. In golf, you have to just forget your last shot. From then on, I just played steady golf."
SHSU sophomore Kirsten Spittler, junior Meghann Stevens and senior Landa Stewart turned in scores of 74, 76 and 78, respectively.
"We beat our average on the year by 20 strokes. I'm very excited about today," Sam Houston head coach Tommy Chain said. "The girls hung tough mentally. They never gave up. They had some struggles, but they stayed in there and got their swings together. It was just awesome the way they played today."
Coming into the conference tournament, the Bearkat women knew they would have a distinct advantage, competing on a course they know all too well. That knowledge came into play as they knew which holes they could attack and which ones had to be played cautiously.
"Being here at Raven Nest, it was easier because we know the course," Musk said. "These last three finishing holes aren't easy, especially the 17th, which is a hard par-3. I was just trying to prepare myself for that. The first three, especially two and three aren't easy, so you just want to take it one shot at a time."
While the Bearkat women are happy to gain an early share of the lead, they know they have two more long rounds ahead of them before they can start celebrating anything.
"We can't judge what the outcome's going to be after the first day because anything can happen," Hardy said. "I think shooting 293 is really good to start off with, so we're sitting pretty good right now."
With only five shots separating SHSU and Central Arkansas from McNeese State, which is sitting in fourth place with a 14-over-par 298, Sam Houston will need to play another two days of solid golf to remain in contention for a conference championship, which comes with an automatic berth in the NCAA regionals.
"We have to keep focused on what we're doing. I'm very excited with how we played today," Chain said. "We just have to continue to do what we did today and keep our emotions in check. That's the tough part here.
"Better would be great, but if we stay around 300 to 295, I think that's normally good enough to win it. If we can just play close to what we did today, we'll be right in there."
The Sam Houston women will tee off from the No. 1 hole today beginning at 8:10 a.m. with Musk in the final group with Sorensen on the front nine starting at 8:42 a.m.
HOLE ONE
7:30 Trista Touchette McNeese State
Katinka Dufour Texas State
7:38 Jennifer Herrmann McNeese State
Gabby De Reuck Texas State
7:46 Randi Fischer McNeese State
Caitlin Bliss Texas State
7:54 Megan Reynolds McNeese State
Krista Puisite Texas State
8:02 Lacy McKinley McNeese State
Valdis Jonsdottir Texas State
8:10 Sara Hillman Central Arkansas
Landa Stewart Sam Houston St..
8:18 CJ Bobbitt Central Arkansas
Meghann Stevens Sam Houston St.
8:26 Julia Roth Central Arkansas
Kirsten Spittler Sam Houston St.
8:34 Gemma Hardie Central Arkansas
Shelby Hardy Sam Houston St.
8:42 Rebecca Sorensen Central Arkansas
Meghan Musk Sam Houston St.
HOLE TEN
7:30 Erin Daurity Stephen F. Austin St
Ashley Thorpe Lamar University
7:38 Allison Flake Stephen F. Austin St
Julie Aime Lamar U
7:46 Chelsea Simmons Stephen F. Austin St
Stine Pedersen Lamar University
7:54 Noelle Willcoxon Stephen F. Austin St
Lauren Van Gerven Lamar University
8:02 Wallis Spears Stephen F. Austin St
Linda Persson Lamar University
8:10 Chelsey Watkins A&M-Corpus Christi
Bruna Spengler UTSA
8:18 Ryann White A&M-Corpus Christi
Shelly Martinez UTSA
8:26 Katie Belser A&M-Corpus Christi
Summer Batiste UTSA
8:34 Cecilia Jeon A&M-Corpus Christi
Paola Valerio UTSA
8:42 Courtney Peeler A&M-Corpus Christi
Shannon Jungman UTSA
Complete first day results:
