University of Georgia Athletics
University of Georgia
NCAA Central Regional
Solid Start For Bulldogs At Central Regional
May 10, 2012 | Women's Golf
May 10, 2012
COLUMBUS, Ohio --- The No. 9-ranked Georgia women's golf team fired an 11-over 299 in Thursday's opening round of the NCAA Central Regional at Ohio State University's Scarlet Course. The Bulldogs are currently in second place and just a stroke off the pace set by No. 3 Southern Cal.
The four golfers who have participated in every event during the 2011-12 campaign again led Georgia. The Bulldogs' counting scores were a 73 from Rocio Sanchez Lobato, a 74 by Marta Silva Zamora, a 75 from Emilie Burger and a 77 by Milena Savich.
"It was cold and windy this morning and the Scarlet Course is a championship golf course," head coach Kelley Hester said. "Under those conditions, I thought it played very tough. I'm proud of the girls for hanging in there, being patient and sticking to the game plan. We didn't hit the ball great, but we chipped and putted very well. Those are things we've spent a lot of time on the past couple of weeks working on, and I'm pleased it paid off today."
Georgia turned at 6-over as a team, with Sanchez Lobato at 1-under, Burger and Savich both at 2-over and Silva Zamora at 3-over.
The Bulldogs staggered slightly just after that, losing five strokes at No. 10 and No. 11, before rallying to play the final seven holes at even-par. All four counting golfers played well during the stretch, with Silva Zamora leading the charge. She mixed birdies at No. 12 and No. 15 and a bogey at No. 13 with four pars to cover that section of the course at 1-under.
Trailing the Women of Troy and the Bulldogs and rounding out the top-10 teams are Purdue at 301; Notre Dame at 304; No. 4 Auburn and No. 14 Tennessee at 306; No. 22 N.C. State at 307; and No. 21 Oregon, Virginia and No. 10 Vanderbilt all at 308. The top-eight teams will advance to the NCAA Championships at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn., on May 22-25.
"All fall, we would get off to a rough start and then have to fight and claw our way back into contention," Hester said. "It was nice to get off to a strong start today. We want to be in contention going into the final day and after today we're one round closer and just one shot back. Our goal is to win the tournament and a round like today helps us keep our eye on that prize."
Vanderbilt's Marina Alex shot the low individual loop, a 2-under 70. For Georgia, Sanchez Lobato is tied for eighth, Silva Zamora is tied for 12th, Burger is tied for 19th, Savich is tied for 34th and Amelia Hill, who shot 90, is 124th.
The No. 3-seeded Bulldogs will again be paired with top seed Southern Cal and No. 2 seed Auburn in Friday's second round, teeing off from No. 10 beginning at 1:26 p.m. Saturday's final round pairing will determined by team standings after 36 holes. Live scoring throughout the tournament can be found at www.golfstat.com.
NCAA Central Regional
OSU Scarlet Course
Columbus, Ohio
Par 72; 6264 Yards
Thursday's First-Round Standings
Morning Wave Team Leaderboard
Southern Cal 298
Georgia 299
Purdue 301
Auburn 306
Tennessee 306
N.C. State 307
Oregon 308
Vanderbilt 308
Virginia 308
Arkansas 310
Ohio State 310
Florida State 314
Morning Wave Individual Leaderboard
Marina Alex, Vanderbilt 70
Paul Reto, Purdue 71
Maria Salinas, Florida State 71
Ashley Armstrong, Notre Dame 72
Doris Chen, Southern Cal 72
Alex Buelow, Stetson 72
Madeleine Shells, Nebraska 72
Rocio Sanchez Lobato, Georgia 73
Becca Huffer, Notre Dame 73
Tiffany Lim, Harvard 73
Lisa McCloskey, Southern Cal 73
Additional Georgia Scores
T12. Marta Silva Zamora, Georgia 74
T19. Emilie Burger, Georgia 75
T34. Milena Savich, Georgia 77
124. Amelia Hill, Georgia 90
