Cavaliers Open Play at NCAA Championships

May 18, 2018

Stillwater, Okla. – The No. 27 Virginia women’s golf team is in 23rd place after the opening day of play at the 2018 NCAA Championships in Stillwater, Okla. The Cavaliers shot 27-over 315. Sixth-ranked USC leads the 24-team field after shooting 3-over 291 to open the tournament.

Oklahoma State’s Karsten Creek Golf Club proved to be a formidable opponent for the field as no team shot under par and only 10 competitors in the 132-player field managed to break par. Five of the nation’s top-ranked teams ââ’¬” No. 2 Arkansas, No. 5 Stanford, No. 7 Furman, No. 8 Texas and No. 10 Arizona State ââ’¬” all shot at least 20-over par.

One player had tremendous success despite the challenging layout. Wake Forest’s Jennifer Kupcho tied the course record by shooting 7-under 65 to grab the opening-round lead.

Virginia’s lineup, which finished second at its NCAA Regional site, could not get on track during the round. Despite getting eagles from freshman Beth Lillie (Fullerton, Calif.) and sophomore Katharine Patrick (Houston, Texas), the team could not take advantage of them as UVA accumulated only eight birdies during Friday’s play. The Cavaliers played its par-four holes at 35-over par.

Starting on the back nine, UVA’s four counting players managed to play their first nine holes at a combined 6-over par. Sophomore Julia Ford (Shrewsbury, Mass.) had UVA’s best start, posting birdies on her second and ninth holes to make the turn at 1-under par. She added another birdie on the first hole to go to 2-under for her round but then played her final eight holes of the day at 10-over par.

As a group, the Hoos struggled during their final nine holes, counting six double bogeys and one triple bogey.

Junior Morgan Gonzales (Chandler, Ariz.) led UVA in the first round by shooting 2-over 74. She managed three birdies and five bogeys and finished the opening round in 28th place.

Junior Anna Redding (Concord, N.C.) and Ford both finished at 8-over 80 and are tied for 97th place. Lillie shot 81 and is in 104th place while Patrick posted a score of 82 and is in 111th place.

This is UVA’s 10th appearance at the NCAA Championships. Friday’s round marked the first time the Cavaliers had at least four players post scores of 80-or-higher during the same day of NCAA play.

The Cavaliers second round will start at 1:21 CST. The 24-team field will be trimmed to 15 teams and top nine individuals not on those teams following Sunday’s third round of competition. After the medal play concludes with 72 holes and the individual champion is crowned, the top eight teams will advance to match play.

NCAA Championships
Karsten Creek Golf Club
Stillwater, Okla.
Par-72, 6,328 yards
First Round Results

Team Results  1. USC              291 2. Alabama          292 3. UCLA             294 4. Kent State       296 5. Duke             298 6. Northwestern     299 7. Arizona          301 7. Louisville       301 7. Florida State    30110. Florida          30310. Washington       30312. Auburn           30413. Colorado         30613. Wake Forest      30615. Oklahoma         30716. Stanford         30816. Arkansas         30818. Texas            30919. Ohio State       31020. Furman           31121. Baylor           31322. Arizona State    31423. Virginia         31524. Ole Miss         320
Individual Leaders1. Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest 652. Janet Mao, Northwestern      683. Jillian Hollis, Georgia      69
Virginia Results 28. Morgan Gonzales   74 97. Anna Redding      80   97. Julia Ford        80104. Beth Lillie       81111. Katharine Patrick 82