May 18, 2011
Live Scoring | Photos | Championship Central
COLLEGE STATION, Texas—With goals and aspirations on its mind, the 10th-ranked Arizona State women’s golf team sits in seventh place after round one of the 2011 NCAA women’s golf Championship. The Sun Devils shot an 8-over 296 on the first day, seven shots off leader UCLA.
Prior to the start of the first round, head coach Melissa Luellen passed out a card to each of her players with inspirational phases written on the front. One phrase in particular stood out: “Winners have goals and move towards them. Losers have expectations and move away from them”.
It’s a good thing speculation does not carry much weight, because it’s safe to say Arizona State has surpassed every expectation initially set for the team at the start of the season.
“It has been such a whirlwind semester,” said Luellen. “[Associate Head Coach] Missy [Farr-Kaye] and I keep reminding them how difficult it has been this season. This semester has been difficult and what they’ve accomplished is amazing.”
Junior Carlota Ciganda led the Sun Devils, playing though the muggy and breezy conditions on the first day of competition to shoot even-par. Starting on the back nine, which included a 25-foot putt for birdie on the par-3 16th hole, the junior was a steady force for ASU, paring out the rest of her holes on the front nine to finish in a tie for 10th.
“I was really proud how they managed the course,” said Luellen. The wind kind of wears you down. You have to stay on the correct side of the hole and they always had a chance to save par. They were really thinking their way around the golf course.”
With three freshmen joining Ciganda and junior Giulia Molinaro in January, the Sun Devils fit their entire team competition schedule into the spring semester. The revamped Arizona State team went on to win three tournaments this spring, including a 15-stroke victory at the University of Hawai’i hosted Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in March.
“There is no pressure on them,” said Luellen. “They believe they’re a good team. They decided to be a certain way on the golf course. They’ve decided who they are as a team. They’ve evolved. The bond has gotten pretty strong between the five of them.”
The 2011 NCAA women’s golf Championship, hosted by Texas A&M University, is held at the par-72, 6163 yard Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas. The Jack Nicklaus designed course uses the wooded Texas landscape to increase the level of difficulty for the golfers.
The Sun Devils came into the competition as the No. 3 seed out of the East Region, making their NCAA-record 20th-consecutive National Championship appearance. Arizona State also holds the distinction of winning the most NCAA women’s golf team titles in Division I history with seven.
“Our goal is to stay positive and to play smart. They realize there are going to be challenges out there and the way they are handling them is very mature and impressive to me.”
|
7 |
296 |
+8 |
|
|
T10 |
72 |
E |
|
|
T31 |
74 |
+2 |
|
|
T43 |
75 |
+3 |
|
|
T43 |
Laura Blanco (5) |
75 |
+3 |
|
T81 |
Justine Lee (3) |
78 |
+6 |