UCLA
NCAA Championship (Vanderbilt)
Golfers in Fifth Place after Opening Round
May 22, 2012 | Women's Golf
May 22, 2012
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UCLA began its defense of last year's NCAA championship squarely in the hunt for its second straight title Tuesday at the Legends Course in Franklin, TN.
The Bruins, with the help of freshman Erynne Lee's consecutive birdies on the final two holes, posted a four-over par score of 292 and were tied for fifth place with Arizona State and LSU. Alabama, with the help of Brooke Pancake's 68 (-4) and Stephanie Meadow's 69 (-3), held the first round lead at 286 (-2), followed by Virginia's even par 288. Duke was third at 289 (+1) and North Carolina was fourth at 290 (+2).
"We didn't get off to a good start today, but we finished quite well as a team," said Head Coach Carrie Forsyth. "Brianna Do had a very good front nine, but gave back a few. However, two birdies on the last two holes by Erynne Lee helped get us into a pretty good position."
The entire field was aided by Virginia, which gave back six strokes after one of its players signed an incorrect scorecard.
For the Bruins, Lee and Do were tied for 18th at even par 72. Do made five birdies and an equal amount of bogeys on the day, while going out in three-under par 33. Lee, two-over par through 16 holes, played the final two holes in two-under par to inch her team up the leaderboard.
Junior Lee Lopez was tied for 27th after posting a 73 (+1). Lopez began the day with consecutive bogeys and played the next 16 holes in one-under par. Junior Tiffany Lua carded a 75 (+3). She had three bogeys, a double bogey and two birdies on the day. Finally, sophomore Ani Gulugian posted at 77 (+5) and was tied for 85th.
Virginia's Portland Rosen fired a 66 (-6) to take the first-round lead and vault the Cavaliers into contention.
The NCAA Women's Golf Championship is a 72-hole event.
For complete tee times and scores click here.
