HOUSTON, TX -- Today marked the first round of competition for the NCAA Women's Golf Division III Championships at the Bay Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas. The Williams squad scored a combined 317 for the first day of play, placing them in sixth place out of 21 teams, with three more rounds of play remaining.
Bay Oaks Country Club is an elite country club in Houston, sporting water on 14 of the 18 holes, and quick greens. The course boasts a par 72, 5,869 yard layout for the four day tournament. Wind was a factor on the course today, the team noted that wind had to be taken into account on every shot.
After day one, the fourth ranked University of Texas at Tyler leads the field by four strokes with a team total of 303. Just four strokes back is the second ranked George Fox University. The Ephs are 14 shots off the lead after day one, and just two shots from being in the top five.
Williams took home the national title last year, and three of the five players competing now in Texas were a part of the five person unit that took home the victory last spring. Last year, the Ephs won the title at Mission Inn Resort and Club, in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. Williams came into this year's tournament ranked ninth in the nation.
Sophomore Liz Gudas, in her NCAA tournament debut, led the charge for the Ephs today, shooting an impressive three over par 75, posting an even par 36 on the front. "I thought I had a really strong front nine, I had a lot of tap in pars. The back nine was more of a struggle, I lost my irons a bit," commented Gudas. "Fortunately, I was able to rely on my short game and make some necessary up and downs to save for par."
Gudas is currently tied for sixth in a field of 109 competitors.
The back nine proved to be a formidable challenge for Williams today. Freshman Cordelia Chan was three over for her last four holes to post a solid 79 for the squad.
"There were definitely some nerves today. My irons were not flush, I was chunking them and that would leave me difficult lag putts for birdie," said Chan. "The finishing holes are tough, they exploit your iron game more, so there is definitely room for improvement on the back nine tomorrow. We know we can go a lot lower, and we are excited for that opportunity in the next few days."
Following Gudas and Chan was junior Sophie Kitchen who posted an 81. Sophomore Phoebe Mattana finished closely behind with an 82, and junior Tracey Kim rounded out scoring with an 84.
Looking towards tomorrow, Gudas spoke to resetting the team mentality: "I think tomorrow is a great opportunity to refocus, to play safe golf and rely on the games we have rather than take risks that have big downsides. High numbers on this course come from spraying tee shots, so we need to prioritize getting in the fairway rather than hitting it as far as we can."
There are three more round of play, the tournament concluding on Friday the 13th. The team tees off for the second round of play tomorrow morning starting at 8:35 AM Central Time.
Full tournament results from day one can be found here.
