The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA West Regional Championships
Stephens leads Women's Golf in NCAA West Regional action with first-round 1-under-par 70
05.06.2010 | Women's Golf
May 6, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. -- Freshman Haley Stephens fired a team-best 1-under-par 70 in the opening round of the NCAA West Regional Championships to finish the day tied for third place. As a team, the Longhorns carded a 9-over 293 and stand alone in fifth place in one of three regional qualifiers for the 2010 NCAA Championships.
Beginning the day in the morning wave of competition and on the back nine of the par-71, 6,103-yard Stanford Golf Course, Stephens made bogeys on the 12th and 14th holes before carding three-straight birdies on her seventh, eighth and ninth holes and making the turn at 1-under. Stephens traded her third bogey on the sixth hole - her 15th - for a fourth birdie on the subsequent hole to result in UT's only subpar round.
Stephens has now tallied five subpar rounds in her first collegiate season. Her opening round 70 matches her previous low round at the Stanford Golf Course, as Stephens also recorded a 70 in the opening round of the Stanford Intercollegiate (Oct. 16) during the fall.
Prior to the NCAA West Regional, the Longhorns twice competed at Stanford this year (Stanford Intercollegiate, Oct. 16-18; Peg Barnard Invitational, Feb. 13-14).
Freshman Madison Pressel finished the day one stroke behind Stephens at even-par 71 and tied for sixth place. Pressel is no stranger to success when competing on the Stanford Golf Course, as she fired a Texas single-round record 6-under-par 65 in the opening round of the Stanford Intercollegiate. At the time, it was just the fifth collegiate round of her career.
Freshman Desiree Dubreuil is tied for 38th place after 18 holes at 4-over 75. Senior Shannon Fish is two strokes behind at 6-over 77 and tied for 67th place, while sophomore Nicole Vandermade is tied for 82nd place at 7-over 78.
No. 3-seed Arizona and No. 5-seed Virginia lead the 24-team field at 7-over 291. Top-seed UCLA and eighth-seeded California are knotted at 8-over 292, while No. 10-seed Texas trails the co-leaders by two strokes at 9-over 293.
The top-eight team finishers and top-two individuals not playing on the eight qualifying teams will earn bids to compete at the 2010 NCAA Women's Golf Championship from May 18-21 at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C., hosted by UNC Wilmington.
The Longhorns will take to the course again Friday, this time teeing off the first hole beginning at 2:20 p.m. CT. Texas will be paired alongside UC Davis and Arkansas for the second-consecutive day. Pairings will be refigured by team standings after 36 holes for Saturday's final round.
NCAA West Regional Championships (Top eight teams) - Round One
T1. Virginia, 291 (+7)
T1. Arizona, 291 (+7)
T3. UCLA, 292 (+8)
T3. California, 292 (+8)
5. TEXAS, 293 (+9)
T6. Alabama, 295 (+11)
T6. UNLV, 295 (+11)
8. Ohio State, 296 (+12)
Top Five Individuals
1. Madeleine Ziegert, San Jose State - 67 (-4)
2. Pia Halbig, California - 68 (-3)
T3. Brittany Altomare, Virginia - 70 (-1)
T3. Henna Cho, UC Irvine - 70 (-1)
T3. Haley Stephens, Texas - 70 (-1)
Additional Texas Individuals
T6. Madison Pressel, 71 (E)
T38. Desiree Dubreuil, 75 (+4)
T67. Shannon Fish, 77 (+6)
T82. Nicole Vandermade, 78 (+7)
