Women's Golf Currently 19th in NCAA Tourney

[Brad]

Courtesy USF

USF WOMEN'S GOLF

Mendez Cards 3-Over-Par On First Day Of NCAA Regional

TAMPA, Fla. (May 10, 2007) – University of South Florida sophomore Gennifer Mendez carded a 3-over-par 75 to lead the Bulls on the first day of the 2007 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships East Regional held at the University Club Golf Course in Baton Rouge, La. Mendez is tied for 59th in the tournament.

The Bulls carded an 18-over 306 on the first day of the event, which places USF 19th in the field.

UCLA was the leader almost from start to finish with an opening round of seven-under par 281 as Sydnee Michaels equaled the women’s collegiate U-Club competition record of 66, 6-under par. Michael is joined at 66 in the individual standings with Wake Forest’s Nannette Hill and Louisville’s Adrienne White.  

Wake Forest was second in team standings with a solid round of 4-under 284, and was joined by Furman, who also posted the 4-under number.  

Only five strokes separate the individual scores for the Bulls, as the team registered rounds between 75 and 79. Junior Christina Jones' 76, which tied her for 72nd, was followed by senior Daniella Ronderos' 81st-place 77. Junior Kylene Pulley recorded a 78 and senior Jessica Buchta rounded out the USF scores with a 79.  

The second round of the 54-hole tournament is set for Friday beginning at 8 a.m. The teams will remain paired with the same teams as Thursday’s first round, but seeds 13-21 will play in the morning, while the afternoon will feature the top 12 seeds including Duke, UCLA, Auburn and LSU among others. The Bulls will tee off of No. 10 beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday.

19        USF, +18, 306

T59      Gennifer Mendez, +3, 75

T72      Christina Jones, +4, 76

T81      Daniella Ronderos, +5, 77

T87      Kylene Pulley, +6, 78

T95      Jessica Buchta, +7, 79

A total of 21 five-member teams and three individuals will take part in the 54-hole event that runs May 10-12 at the home of the LSU Lady Tigers, all looking for a chance to advance to the 2007 Division I Women’s Golf Championships set for the LPGA course in Daytona Beach, Fla., May 22-25.

The last time the women’s USF team played in a regional event was the 2005 season, when the Bulls carded a 20th place 319 in the Central Regional. Individually, Christina Jones tied for 25th in the 2006 East Regional last season.  

Admission for all sessions of the NCAA Regional are free and live scoring for the event are available at www.golfstat.com.

Regional tournaments are considered preliminary rounds of NCAA championships competition, and all national championships policies apply. Three regional tournaments – East, Central and West – are being conducted May 10-12 to determine the championships field. A total of 324 participants have been selected for the regional competition. Of these players, 126 will advance to the championships finals.  

The field at the NCAA East Regional includes Duke, UCLA, Auburn, Purdue, Texas A&M, North Carolina, Alabama, Wake Forest, South Carolina, Virginia, Florida State, LSU, Louisville, USF, North Carolina State, Birmingham-Southern, Furman, College of Charleston, Western Carolina, Jacksonville State and Jackson State. The three players participating as individuals are Araceli Felgueroso of Coastal Carolina, Lene Krog of East Carolina, and Amanda Mathis of Mississippi State.