Altomare Paces UVa at First Day of NCAAs

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Wilmington, NC – The 13th-ranked Virginia women’s golf team is in 10th place after the opening round of play of the NCAA Championships taking place at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C. Playing in the first group on the course Tuesday morning, the Cavaliers shot 6-over 294. Fourth-ranked USC leads the field at 6-under 282 while eighth-seeded Purdue is second at 284. They were the only schools in the 24-team field to break par during the opening round.

“I think we played well today,” said UVa coach Kim Lewellen. “We put ourselves in a good position for the next three days. We had a couple of birdies coming in and I think that will give us some momentum heading into the second round. We like the course and it sets up well for us. Because of the rain Monday, it played long today, especially this morning when we were out there.”

Virginia was led by freshman Brittany Altomare who shot 2-under 70 to tie for eighth place. A trio of players share the lead at 5-under 67. That group includes Arizona State’s Jennifer Johnson, Purdue’s Maude-Aimee LeBlanc and USC’s Jennifer Song.

Altomare used three birdies over her final four holes to place herself among the tournament leaders. Last fall she finished second playing on the same course at the Fall Preview/Landfall Tradition tournament.

“Brittany is very confident on this course,” Lewellen said. “Finishing with those three birdies was very impressive and should give her a real boost for the rounds ahead. She’s one of the top freshmen in the country and this week she has the opportunity to prove she is also one of the top overall golfers in the nation.”

Virginia’s Calle Nielson opened with a 1-over 73 and is in 30th place. Freshman Nicole Agnello is 49th at 74. Junior Joy Kim shot 77 and is in 87th place and redshirt freshman Lauren Greenlief carded a 79 to place 108th.

The Cavaliers will start their second round at 12:20 p.m. Wednesday while playing with Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State. Live scoring of the tournament is online at Golfstat.com.

NCAA Championships
Country Club of Landfall
Wilmington, NC
Par 72, 6,368 yards
First Round Results

Team Results
1. USC 282
2. Purdue 284
3. Arizona State 288
3. UCLA 288
3. Duke 288
6. Alabama 289
6. Florida State 289
8. TCU 292
9. Auburn 293
10. Virginia 294
11. Oklahoma State 295
12. Vanderbilt 296
12. Arizona 296
14. Pepperdine 297
14. Texas A@M 297
14. Tennessee 297
17. San Jose State 298
18. Texas 299
19. South Carolina 300
19. Stanford 300
21. Oregon 302
22. New Mexico 303
23. Kent State 307
24. Tulane 311

Top Individuals
1. Jennifer Johnson, Arizona State 67
1. Maude-Aimee LeBlanc, Purdue 67
1. Jennifer Song, USC 67
4. Brianna Do, UCLA 68
4. Kim Donovan, Duke 68
4. Cyna Rodriguez, USC 68
7. Jessica Negron, Florida State 69
8. Brittany Altomare, Virginia 70
8. Brooke Beeler, TCU 70
8. Laura Gonzalez, Purdue 70
8. Caroline Hedwall, Oklahoma State 70
8. Brooke Pancake, Alabama 70
8. Maria Salinas, Florida State 70

Virginia Results
8. Brittany Altomare 70
30. Calle Nielson 73
49. Nicole Agnello 74
87. Joy Kim 77
108. Lauren Greenlief 79