Virginia Enters Final Round of NCAA Golf Championships in 18th Place
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May 22, 2014
Tulsa, Okla. – The No. 18 Virginia women’s golf team took advantage of calmer wind conditions to shoot its lowest round of the week and move up to 18th place at the NCAA Championships taking place in Tulsa, Okla. The Cavaliers shot 8-over 288 during the third round and enter Friday’s final day of competition with a 54-hole total of 46-over 886.
Duke took over the team lead by shooting 2-under 278. The third-ranked Blue Devils stand at 16-over 856 and own a six-stroke lead over top-ranked USC. Oklahoma, which led the tournament after each of the first two rounds, is in third place at 866 while second-ranked UCLA is fourth at 867.
Virginia junior Briana Mao (Folsom, Calif.) led the Cavaliers Thursday by shooting even par 70. She became the first UVa player to shoot par during the tournament. Mao, who struggled with rounds of 79 and 77 during the first two days, posted a total of seven birdies during her tour of the par-70 Tulsa Country Club course. Mao finished the day in 84th place at 226.
“Bri mentioned that she found something that clicked today,” said head coach Kim Lewellen. “That was apparent. She was throwing the ball at the pin and making a lot of putts today and a lot of birdies. It was a great round for her.”
Senior Elizabeth Brightwell (Nellysford, Va.) also posted her low 18-hole score for the event. She shot 1-over 71. She enters the final day of play in 109th place at 231.
Freshman Lauren Diaz-Yi (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) continues to lead Virginia. She is in 20th place at 7-over 217. Diaz-Yi shot 75 after opening play with back-to-back 71s. Lauren Coughlin (Chesapeake, Va.) is in 57th place at 222 and Portland Rosen (Sugar Land, Texas) is 77th at 225. Coughlin carded a score of 72 while Rosen shot 75 during the third round.
“The conditions during the morning were perfect,” Lewellen said. “There was not a lot of wind and the greens really rolled well. I think the team played well. It was a good learning experience that we can build on for the final round.”
Duke’s Celine Boutier and USC’s Doris Chen are expected to battle for the individual title on Friday. They shared the third-round lead at 3-under 207.
Virginia will tee off at 8:55 a.m. ET to start its final round. All tee times were moved up 30 minutes due to the possibility of severe weather in the area during the afternoon.
NCAA Women's Golf ChampionshipsTulsa Country ClubTulsa, Okla.Par-70, 6,194 yardsThird Round Results
Team Results 1. Duke 293-285-278-856 2. USC 293-291-278-862 3. Oklahoma 288-287-291-866 4. UCLA 291-293-283-867 5. Mississippi State 302-285-283-870 6. Arizona State 293-287-291-871 6. Arizona 298-286-287-871 6. NC State 307-284-280-871 9. Tulane 303-294-278-87510. Ohio State 299-291-288-87810. Northwestern 305-289-284-87812. Alabama 305-285-289-87912. Vanderbilt 303-290-286-87914. Stanford 300-286-294-88015. Washington 299-289-293-88116. South Carolina 301-299-283-88317. Texas A&M 305-292-288-88518. Virginia 303-295-288-88619. Florida 305-292-290-88720. California 296-305-289-89020. Michigan State 305-283-302-89022. Iowa State 306-298-292-89623. Campbell 305-303-289-89724. Kansas 313-293-303-909
Individual Leaders1. Celine Boutier, Duke 70-70-67-2071. Doris Chen, USC 67-72-68-2073. Chonlada Chayanun, Iowa State 72-69-69-2103. Allyssa Ferrell, Michigan State 69-69-72-2103. Lauren Kim, Stanford 67-71-72-210
Virginia Results 20. Lauren Diaz-Yi 71-71-75-217 57. Lauren Coughlin 77-73-72-222 77. Portland Rosen 76-74-75-225 84. Briana Mao 79-77-70-226109. Elizabeth Brightwell 82-78-71-231="http:>="http:>="http:>="http:>="http:>