No. 30 Golf In 3rd at Hurricane Invitational
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The 30th-ranked Miami Hurricanes women’s golf team is in the Top 3 after two rounds at the 2014 Hurricane Invitational.
A day after shooting a 284 that put them in first place after one round, the Canes combined to shoot a 295 on Tuesday at Biltmore Golf Course. Miami’s total team score through two rounds is 579, eight strokes behind the tournament leader, No. 25 Iowa State. No. 18 Northwestern sits in second place with a score of 574, while No. 69 Mercer and No. 65 Campbell are tied for fourth with 585.
“Overall the course played a lot harder for everyone today because other than maybe two teams, a lot of teams struggled,” Miami head coach Patti Rizzo said. “I don’t know exactly why, the wind was a little bit different, the pins were harder, they were kind of tucked near the back edges of the green and a lot of girls get a little timid and go for the pin when it’s all the way over the back.”
Rizzo attributed Miami’s struggles to a tough day on the greens.
“Our team, personally, they’re just not making enough birdies,” Rizzo said. “The biggest weakness is they’re not making enough putts. I followed [Leticia Ras-Anderica] the whole back nine and she had maybe five putts inside 12 feet for birdie and she only made one. That’s just killing us right now. Hopefully tomorrow all the putts will drop.”
The Canes were led by sophomore Kailey Walsh and freshman Daniela Darquea. Walsh turned in the top score by a Hurricane on Tuesday, finishing with an even par 71. Darquea was just one stroke behind her, turning in a 1-over 72. Darquea and Walsh head into Wednesday’s final round in third and eighth place, respectively.
“Kaylie played real well,” Rizzo said. “She was frustrated, too, because she said she didn’t make any putts with a 71. Hopefully tomorrow with Kaylie and Dani and Leti the putts will drop. They’re all capable of shooting 66 on a great day, so maybe tomorrow will be that day.”
After firing a 69 for the second consecutive day, Iowa State’s Sasikarn On-lam is the individual leader at 4-under 138. Middle Tennessee’s Avery George (3-under, 139), Darquea (2-under, 140), Mercer’s Sarah Louie Brown (1-under, 141) and Longwood’s Amanda Steinhagen (1-under, 141) round out the Top 5 individuals through two rounds.
Miami had several members of it’s second team improve significantly in the second round at the Hurricane Invitational. Carina Cuculiza was the top player for Miami’s B squad, shooting a 2-over 73. Laura Hendee was right behind Cuculiza, turning in a 3-over 74. Lauren Riehle shaved a stroke off her first round score, firing a 5-over 76. The biggest improvement in the second group came from Audrey Monssoh, who turned in a 6-over 77 a day after shooting an opening round 88.
“That’s why we wanted to have a team B,” Rizzo said. “We wanted to give them a chance to see where their game is at and for us to see where their game is at. They work hard and they practice every week. They might even do better tomorrow because they’re getting more in a tournament groove so each day should be an improvement. All of our girls have a lot of talent, they could all be solid players. At the 4, 5, 6 and 7 positions they’re really close in talent so anybody, any day could take over one of those spots. We’re proud of them, too, so we hope they go out tomorrow and tear it up also.”
The Hurricanes, who finished third out of 18 teams at the 2013 Hurricane Invitational at Deering Bay, will look to improve on their Top 3 finish from a year ago. Wednesday’s final round will commence with an 8 a.m. shotgun start.
“We’re a little far out of it, but not too far,” Rizzo said. “In golf, two shots a player is all we need to catch up so it’s possible. We can still come back and have a great day and win our home tournament.”
Miami has finished either second or third in each of its last three tournaments this season. Following the Hurricane Invitational, the Hurricanes will head north March 14-16 for the SunTrust Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla.
The 2014 Hurricane Invitational will be played over three days at the par-71, 6,092-yard course at the Biltmore, a few miles from the University of Miami campus. Live scoring for all three rounds will be available at www.golfstatresults.com and www.hurricanesports.com.
For tournament updates throughout the day on Twitter, use the hashtag #CaneInvite or follow the Miami Hurricanes women’s golf account, @HurricanesGolf.
HURRICANE INVITATIONAL INFORMATION
Date: Monday, March 3 – Wednesday, March 5
Location / Course: Coral Gables, Fla. / Biltmore Golf Course
Par / Yardage: 71 / 6,092
Format: 18-18-18
Field (17 teams): (65) Campbell, (1 –JC) Daytona State, (54) East Carolina, Iowa, (25) Iowa State, James Madison, Kennesaw State, Longwood, Maryland, (69) Mercer, (30) Miami (A&B), Michigan, Middle Tennessee, (18) Northwestern, (56) Texas State, (58) Texas Tech, USF
Live Scoring: www.golfstatresults.com / www.hurricanesports.com
