April 1, 2011
After a cold and rainy few weeks in Nashville and in their most recent tournament in Greensboro, N.C., the Commodores saw sunny and hot conditions in the first round of the PING/ASU Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., and ended the first day of play in eighth place with a total of 296. Sophomore Lauren Stratton led Vanderbilt with an even-par 72, which ties her for 18th place on the individual leaderboard.
The Commodores’ first-round 296 is three strokes behind California and Arizona State, who share sixth place at 293. UCLA exploded out of the gate with a 12-under par, 276, and lead the tournament by five strokes over USC.
The Bruins’ Tiffany Lua leads all individuals with a five-under par, 67, and three other UCLA players are in the top five.
8. Vanderbilt – 296
T-18. Lauren Stratton – 72
T-24. Megan Grehan – 73
T-31. Marina Alex – 74
T-63. Anna Leigh Keith – 77
T-73. Rene Sobolewski – 78
Notes
– This is Vanderbilt’s fourth appearance in the last five years at the PING/ASU Invite.
– The Commodores posted 15 birdies on Friday.
Head coach Greg Allen quotes
“I felt good about today. We had a few hiccups on a few holes and gave some shots back. We’ve got to be smarter on a few holes. But, in general, I like where we’re going right now. We have a good attitude and we’re enjoying the process. The scoreboard isn’t going to define us a team, and hopefully our attitude and frame of mind will lead to some good scores at SEC’s in a few weeks.”
“I think we saw the old Marina today. I think she’s ready to snap out of the little funk she’s been in.”
“It was hot out there today. I think it got to 100. We made it through alright. We drank a lot of water and we had some cold towels.”
“UCLA made a statement today. They put together a great round.”
