HOUSTON, TX -- The Williams Women's Golf Team remains in sixth place at the NCAA Championships after day two at the Bay Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas. Williams shot a 309 on the day, an eight stroke improvement from yesterday's 317, bringing their two day total to 626.
The Ephs posted the fourth best score for day two alone, however they remain 16 strokes back from Rhodes's two day total of 610 heading into the third round of play tomorrow.
Rhodes College posted an impressive 298 today, followed closely by Wittenberg University. Wittenberg posted a 303 today bringing their two day total to 613, just three back from Rhodes. The Ephs sit just three strokes behind the University of Redlands, who sit at fifth place.
While the women teed off from the back nine in the early morning, a two hour weather delay due to lightning made for a long day on the course. Leading the charge for the Ephs today was freshman Cori Chan.
"We had an earlier tee time today so the winds were much calmer compared to yesterday's round. The rain delay was a bit of a setback but we all bounced back quickly," noted Chan. "I'm really proud of our team, in the way we all fought back from tough holes and pulled together solid rounds."
Cori was two over after her first nine of play. She subsequently parred the first eight holes of her second nine, and finished her round off with a birdie. This brought her score to a one over 73. Cori is now tied for eighth place in the tournament with her two day scores of 79 and 73 coming to 152.
"I felt a lot more confident today," commented Chan. "Yesterday I was playing scared, I let the first round nerves get to me. Today I focused on keeping a clear mind, and as a result my approach shots were a lot more accurate. I had several other birdie putts that could have dropped, but the important thing is that I kept putting myself in the position for those birdie opportunities."
Junior Sophie Kitchen shot the next best score for the Ephs with a 78. Kitchen had two birdies on her front nine to record a 38, and fought back from a double bogey on the second hole to record a 40 on the second nine (her second nine being the front nine of the course, seeing as the girls teed off from #10 today).
"I think our best golf is still to come," noted Kitchen. "I think all of us are still getting comfortable on this course, but each day we are picking better targets and committing more confidently."
Sophomores Liz Gudas and Phoebe Mattana both carded 79s on the day.
Gudas had a triple-bogey on her sixth hole, but proceeded to play the next 12 holes just three over par, notably getting a birdie on the third hole of the course, and fighting her way back to post a solid round.
Mattana struggled for her first nine holes, recording a 44. However, she battled back, earning birdies on holes two, three, and four, to shoot a one under 35 for her second nine.
"Everyday is 'mooving day' for the Ephs," Chan joked. "We know we can shoot just as low as the top teams, it's just a matter of focusing on the little things. I'm excited to see what we can do in the last two days of play!!"
Tee times for tomorrow's round start at 12:15 CT for the Ephs. The full leaderboard and live scoring can be found here.
