UVa Women's Golfers in Eighth Place to Open NCAA Regional

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Columbus, Ohio – The 27th-ranked Virginia women’s golf team is tied for eighth place after the opening round of the NCAA Central Regional Championship taking place at the Ohio State Golf Course in Columbus, Ohio. Virginia shot 20-over 308 to open the three-day, 54-hole qualifier. The top eight teams in the 24-school field advance to the NCAA Championships.

USC leads the field at 10-over 298. The third-ranked Women of Troy hold a one-shot lead over No. 9 Georgia.

Virginia was led by junior Brittany Altomare’s 3-over 75 that has her in 19th place. She started her round with a pair of birdies over the first six holes before making the turn at 1-under. Like her teammates, Altomare found the Scarlet Course’s back nine more difficult as she piled up four bogeys and five pars.

The Cavaliers four scoring players managed to play the front nine at a combined 2-over par but the troublesome back nine produced a score of 18-over. Nine of those strokes came down the stretch on the final three holes.

“We were moving right along, not getting into too much trouble, and then the back nine got us,” said Virginia coach Kim Lewellen. “We got away from our strategy a little, but we are okay after the first day. We know we can play better golf and we’ll get back after it Friday afternoon.”

Senior Lauren Greenlief was UVa’s number-two scorer, finishing 34th at 5-over 77. Briana Mao and Elizabeth Brightwell are tied for 42nd at 6-over 78. Portland Rosen finished 107th at 84.

Virginia will start its second round Friday afternoon at 12:20 p.m. while paired with NC State and Oregon. Live scoring of the tournament is online at Golfstat.com.

NCAA Central Regional
Ohio State Scarlet Course
Columbus, Ohio
Par-72, 6,264 yards
First Round Results

Team Results
1. USC 298
2. Georgia 299
3. Purdue 301
4. Notre Dame 304
5. Tennessee 306
5. Auburn 306
7. NC State 307
8. Oregon 308
8. Virginia 308
8. Vanderbilt 308
11. South Florida 309
12. Ohio State 310
12. Arkansas 310
14. Florida State 314
15. Mississippi 315
15. Harvard 315
15. Michigan 315
18. UTSA 317
19. Texas State 320
20. Butler 321
21. Kentucky 322
22. UNC Wilmington 323
23. Siena 328
24. East Carolina 329

Individual Leaders
1. Marina Alex, Vanderbilt 70
2. Paula Reto, Purdue 71
2. Maria Salinas, Florida State 71
4. Ashley Armstrong, Notre Dame 72
4. Alex Buelow, Stetson* 72
4. Doris Chen, USC 72
4. Madeleine Shells, Nebraska* 72
8. Becca Huffer, Notre Dame 73
8. Tiffany Lim, Harvard 73
8. Rocio Sanchez Lobato, Georgia 73
8. Lisa McCloskey, USC 73
* Competing as an individual

Virginia Results
19. Brittany Altomare 75
34. Lauren Greenlief 77
42. Briana Mao 78
42. Elizabeth Brightwell 78
107. Portland Rosen 84