UVa Women's Golfers Open in Sixth Place at NCAA Regional

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Athens, GA The Virginia women’s golf team’s bid to return to the NCAA Championships got off to a good start Thursday at the East Regional taking place at the University of Georgia Golf Course. The Cavaliers shot 8-over 296 are tied for sixth place with No. 10 Auburn. The top eight teams from the three-day, 54-hole event advance to the NCAA Championships.

“We put ourselves in a good position today,” said Virginia coach Kim Lewellen. “You cannot win this tournament on first day, but can put yourself in a good position and that’s what the team did. It is a very good feeling to be where we are. Now we just have to go out the next few days and maintain our spot, but our goal is to play a little better.”

Sophomore Whitney Neuhauser led the Cavaliers with a score of even par 72. She had 16 pars during her round. Neuhauser is in 10th place. Freshman Joy Kim shot 1-over 73 to stand 17th while classmate Calle Nielson shot 2-over 74 and is 23rd. Jennie Arseneault used three birdies on her back nine to finish at 5-over 77. She is 52nd overall. Lene Krog is in 64th place at 6-over 78.

“Whitney probably hit the most greens she has hit all year,” Lewellen said. “She had a phenomenal round and that was really big for us today. I was also very proud of how Joy Kim played. She did a nice job and Calle and Jennie both grinded, especially on the back nine. Lene did not have a great day, but she has a tendency to bounce back and that could be very helpful to us tomorrow.”

Top-ranked Duke leads the field at 3-under 285. Fifth-ranked Florida is second at 290, South Carolina is third at 291, Furman is fourth at 292 and Louisville is in fifth place at 293.

The Cavaliers play was considerably better than in March when UVa played on the same course during Georgia’s Liz Murphey Classic and never shot lower than 307 during their three rounds.

The second round of the tournament is Friday with the final round set for Saturday. Virginia will tee off at 12:30 p.m. during the second round. Live scoring is online at Golfstat.com

NCAA East Regional Championship
Univ. of Georgia Golf Course
Athens, GA
Par-72, 6,335 yards
First Round Results

Team Results
1. Duke 285
2. Florida 290
3. South Carolina 291
4. Furman 292
5. Louisville 293
6. Virginia 296
6. Auburn 296
8. Wake Forest 298
9. Georgia 299
10. New Mexico 304
11. Missouri 305
12. Vanderbilt 308
12. Georgia State 308
14. Indiana 309
14. Charleston Southern 309
16. Tennessee 311
17. Central Florida 312
17. UNC Wilmington 312
19. East Carolina 314
20. Jacksonville State 327
21. Jackson State 338

Individual Leaders
1. Sara-Maude Juneau, Louisville 67
2. Amanda Blumenherst, Duke 68
2. Benedicte, Toumpsin, South Carolina 68
4. Corrine Carr, Furman 69
5. Krystle Caithness, Georgia 70
5. Cydney Clanton, Auburn 70
5. Kimberly Donovan, Duke 70
8. Carmen Perez, UNC Wilmington 71
8. Alexandra Phelps, New Mexico 71
10. Tiffany Chudy, Florida 72
10. Jaclyn Hilea, Furman 72
10. Ornella Jouven, Florida 72
10. Cindy LaCrosse, Louisville 72
10. Whitney Neuhauser, Virginia 72
10. Jennifer Pandolfi, Duke 72
10. Natalie Sheary, Wake Forest 72

Virginia
10. Whitney Neuhauser 72
17. Joy Kim 73
23. Calle Nielson 74
52. Jennie Arseneault 77
64. Lene Krog 78