Chattanooga Eighth at NCAA Central Regional

Maria Juliana Loza's 73 (+1) paced the Mocs effort

NOTRE DAME, Ind. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's golf team got off to a solid start at the NCAA Central Regional on Warren Golf Course.  Chattanooga is eighth after a 15 over-par 303.

"It was a tough first nine for us," said head coach Colette Murray.  "I felt if we could get through the turn at +12 or better, we'd be OK.  We made it at +10 and then really got much tougher ourselves on the easier side."

The Mocs started on No. 10 and was plus four as a team through three holes.  Marion Duvernay (Publier, France) carded the first birdie on No. 13 and had the lone two birdies on the side for UTC as it made the move to the easier front side at 10 over.

That's when Maria Juliana Loza (Bucaramanga, Colombia) and Christine Wolf (Igls, Austria) took over.  The duo each played their last nine holes at one under each.

"I'm really proud of Maju and Christine," Murray added.  "Both played great on their second nines.  Christine had a rough end to her front side with a double on 18.  A lot of players would have let it get away from them, but she stayed true to her game and really keyed our turnaround.

"It was a great day overall for Maju" she continued.  "You talk about a winner.  She was marching her way around the golf course...it was fun to watch."

Loza led UTC with a one-over par 73 and is tied for 11th.  She had one birdie, but posted 15 pars in her round.  Wolf's 75 (+3) could've been much lower with a hotter putter as she had several birdies putts on the day.

Emma de Groot (Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia) shot 77 (+5) with 13 pars and five bogeys.  Duvernay rounded out the team scoring with a 78 (+6).

No. 2 UCLA had the low round with a three-over par 291.  No. 8 LSU is second at 295 (+7), while Notre Dame shot 298 (+10).  No. 5 Duke and No. 24 Stanford each shot 302 (+14).

Chattanooga is ahead of Kent State by one (304), three clear of No. 17 Texas and Ohio State at 306.  No. 11 Arkansas is 10th at 307 (+19) followed by No. 15 Wake Forest (312) and No. 14 Tulane (313).

Ani Gulugian (UCLA) and Nicole Zhang (Notre Dame) are the leaders in the clubhouse at 71 (-1).  Eight players are tied for third at 72 (E) with Loza tied with three others in 11th.

Tomorrow's round starts on the first tee for Chattanooga.  The Mocs will play with Ohio State and Kent State again beginning at 12:20 p.m., playing at 11-minute intervals. Live scoring can be found on the women's golf schedule page on GoMocs.com.

LEADERBOARD

1) No. 2 UCLA	291	291 (+3)
2) No. 8 LSU	295	295 (+7)
3) Notre Dame	298	298 (+10)
4) Minnesota	301	301 (+13)
T5) No. 5 Duke	302	302 (+14)
T5) Northwestern	302	302 (+14)
T5) No. 24 Stanford	302	302 (+14)
8) Chattanooga	303	303 (+15)
9) Kent State	304	304 (+16)
T10) Ohio State	306	306 (+18)
T10) No. 17 Texas	306	306 (+18)
12) No. 11 Arkansas	307	307 (+19)
13) North Texas	311	311 (+23)
T14) No. 15 Wake Forest	312	312 (+24)
T14) Oklahoma State	312	312 (+24)
T16) Illinois	313	313 (+25)
T16) No. 14 Tulane	313	313 (+25)
18) Wisconsin	314	314 (+26)
19) East Carolina	315	315 (+27)
T20) Michigan	316	316 (+28)
T20) Butler	316	316 (+28)
22) UNLV	318	318 (+30)
23) Morehead State	319	319 (+31)
24) Illinois State	329	329 (+41)
Mocs:
T11) Maria Juliana Loza	73	73 (+1)
T26) Christine Wolf	75	75 (+3)
T43) Emma de Groot	77	77 (+5)
T51) Marion Duvernay	78	78 (+6)
117) Jordan Britt	84	84 (+12)

 

Kenoyer Fires Opening Round 71 At NCAA East Regional

Daytona Beach, Fla. -- Furman's Stefanie Kenoyer fired an opening round 71 to grab a share of fourth place just two strokes off of the lead at the NCAA Women's Golf East Regional on Thursday morning at the LPGA International's par-72 Legends Course in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The senior, three over par through 10 holes, notched three consecutive birdies starting at No. 11 and shot a 33 on the back nine to finish at one-under 71.  Two over through three holes, Kenoyer recorded a pair of birdies on the front nine to make the turn at two-over.  After a bogey at No. 10, the Lighthouse Point, Fla., native played the final eight holes at four-under to climb into the top five.  

"After a rough start I really got my putter going and came back great on the back nine," said Kenoyer.

She trails Florida State's Jessica Negron (-3) by two strokes after 18 holes in the 54-hole tournament.  Daniela Holmqvist of California and Catherine O'Donnell of North Carolina are tied for second at two-under.

Second round action is slated for Friday morning with final round play set to take place on Saturday.  The top eight teams in the 24-team field and top two individuals not on a qualifying team will advance to the NCAA Championship May 18-21, at the Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas.

Kenoyer, a native of Lighthouse Point, Fla., led Furman with a 75.6 stroke average over 23 rounds during the 2010-11 season.  She garnered one top-five and two top-10 finishes while helping the Paladins to a No. 62 national ranking according to GolfStat.com.

A 2008 and 2009 SoCon individual medalist, Kenoyer captured SoCon Player of the Year honors in both 2009 and 2010.  She is a three-time National Golf Coaches Association All-Scholar Team member and received Furman's annual Student-Athlete Achievement Award last month.

Furman fans can follow Kenoyer's quest to earn a berth in the NCAA Championships through live scoring of the 2011 NCAA East Regional at www.FurmanPaladins.com and www.GolfStatResults.com.

 

Whittaker Completes First Round at NCAA Regional Championship 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Junior Leigh Whittaker fired a seven-over 79 in the first round of the NCAA East Regional Thursday at the LPGA International Legends course.

Whittaker's round was highlighted by a 30-foot chip shot that found the bottom of the hole for birdie on the par-four 18th hole. 

Whittaker started off solid by going even-par through her first three holes. Even after struggling with a double bogey later in the round she came back to par the next four holes.

CofC Head Coach Jamie Futrell said Whittaker is getting close to figuring things out and looks forward to tomorrow's round.

"Although today was a bit of a rough round I fully believe Leigh is capable of coming out very strong tomorrow," he said. "She had some good birdie opportunities today and I look forward to seeing what she can do in the next two rounds."

Whittaker will tee off in the second round at 1:15 PM tomorrow. Live scoring will be available via golfstat.com. 

For complete results click here <http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=2614> .