University of Oregon
Duck Invitational
Strong Second Round Pushes Oregon into Duck Invitational Lead
03/08/04 | Women's Golf
EUGENE, Ore. ? The Oregon women's golf team used a strong second round to surge past Washington State and into the lead after the first day of the Oregon Duck Invitational, Monday at the par-72, 5,968-yard Eugene Country Club.
Sophomore Therese Wenslow shot a season-low 72 in the second round to lead the charge as Oregon fired a 298 Monday afternoon -- 17 strokes better than the 315 it shot during the morning round. The Ducks led the tournament at 613 with defending champion Washington State next at 617. Portland State was a distant third at 634, followed by Cal State Northridge at 641 and Long Beach State at 642.
"After I saw the first round scores, I knew our second round would be better," said Oregon head coach Shannon Rouillard, whose team was playing in its first event of the spring. "We had a little hiccup in the first round and I guess I expected that because of some rust and some nervousness, but I think playing 36 holes was a great advantage for us today, because we are a physically tough and mentally tough team."
Individually, two-time defending medalist Kim Welch of Washington State held a share of the overnight lead, shooting rounds of 73-74 for a 3-over 147 total. But Welch, who won this event in 2001 at Mallard Creek and last year at Shadow Hills, was unable to distance herself from the pack. Elizabeth Allen of Cal State Northridge shot identical rounds of 73-74 and was tied with Welch.
Wenslow was two shots back of the leaders at 149 and Michelle Timpani, an Oregon sophomore competing unattached for this tournament, fired a solid 74-76 for a 150 total. Kim Bolee of Long Beach State carded the only subpar round of the day, shooting 71 in the afternoon, and was fifth at 152.
Including Wenslow and Timpani, six Ducks stood in the top 15 following Monday's action. Johnna Nealy, a junior from Grants Pass, was seventh at 154, while sophomore Erin Andrews was eighth at 155. Freshman Kim McCready was 12th at 157 and junior Jess Carlyon was tied for 13th at 158.
The final round gets underway at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning.
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Players Mentioned
