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Duke Rallies to Win Mason Rudolph 10-3-04 10/3/2004 VU Places 10th No. 1-ranked Duke rallied from seven shots behind Sunday to edge UCLA by one shot to win the fourth annual Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship, hosted by Vanderbilt University. Round Three – Team | Individual | Combo | Photo Gallery The Blue Devils shot one-over par and benefited from a missed UCLA putt on the 18th hole to capture the title. Defending team champion Georgia placed third. Georgia’s Jackie Beers shot four-under 68 under ideal conditions to win the individual title. Beers 54-hole total was 212, three better than UCLA’s Susie Mathews. Host Vanderbilt, led by Chris Brady’s 69, had its best day of the tournament and climbed into a 10th place tie with Wake Forest in the 18 team field. All but three teams were ranked in golfstat.com’s pre-season Top 25. Brady’s fine finish pushed her into a tie for eighth position on the final leader board. Liebelei Lawrence added a 74 for the Commodores while Kristen Svicarovich shot 75. Helen-Rose Richards completed her first collegiate tournament with a 78 while Julie Bartholomew had a final day 80. “I was pleased with several things today,” said Vanderbilt Coach Martha Richards Freitag. “It was good to see our young team have its best round on the final day, especially facing this difficult field. And it was good to see Chris Brady finish the tournament the way you hope your leader will finish.” There was a hole-in-one for the second straight day. Ashlee Dean of North Carolina State aced the par 3, 167-yard fifth hole en route to an even par round of 72. Round Two – Team | Individual | Combo UCLA shot even-par 288 to remain in first place Saturday at the Mason Rudolph Championship being played at the Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin. The Bruins, second here last year, are four shots ahead of defending champion Georgia with 18 holes remaining Sunday. Top ranked Duke rebounded from a sluggish first day to have the day’s best score and jumped into third position. Vanderbilt shot two strokes better than the opening round but fell into a tie for 14th with Oklahoma in the 18-team field. Freshman Liebelei Lawrence had the Commodores’ best day at one-over 73. Tulane’s Alison Walshe is the individual leader after shooting her second straight two-under par 70. She is two strokes ahead of UCLA’s Charlotte Mayorkas and three ahead of a foursome of others. Duke’s All-American Elizabeth Janangelo had the day’s best round with a five-under par 67 but Saturday’s best shot was Florida’s Whitney Myers, who aced the 153-yard 16th hole en route to a 71. Other Vanderbilt results included a 74 by Kristen Svicarovich, 75 by Chris Brady, 79 by Helen-Rose Richards and an 83 by Julie Bartholomew. Devon Unkeless, playing as an independent, had an 84 after opening with a 79. Sunday’s round is a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Round One – Team | Individual | Combo | Photo Gallery Second-ranked UCLA leads an 18-team field after the first round of the Mason Rudolph Women’s Golf Championship. The Bruins shot a one-over par 289 over the Ironhorse Course at Vanderbilt Legends Club Friday. Host Vanderbilt is tied for 12th position with Wake Forest in the tightly bunched field, 14 shots behind the leaders. Texas is second, two shots behind UCLA, with defending team champion Georgia third at four-over par. Three individuals share the lead at two-under par. Alison Walshe of Tulane, Cassandra Kirkland of Arizona and Perry Swenson of Texas each fired a round of 70 on the clear, calm day. Another six golfers are just one shot back. The fourth annual Mason Rudolph Championship has attracted its strongest field with 10 members of golfstat.com’s pre-season top 20 and 13 of the 18 teams rated among the Top 25. “We are very excited to have this outstanding field of teams,” says Vanderbilt Coach Martha Richards Freitag. “The staff here at Vanderbilt Legends Club has the course in great condition so I am pleased with the tournament. “As far as our team’s performance today,” Freitag continues, “it wasn’t a bad start for our young team, it was just not enough in a field as talented as this. We have a great opportunity ahead of us tomorrow, being paired with No. 1 Duke and Tulane.” The top-rated Blue Devils, last year’s NCAA runner-up, had an uncharacteristically sluggish day with four players shooting 76 or more. Freitag was pleased with the debut of yet another Commodore freshman. Helen-Rose Richards went 39-39-78 in her first tournament of her college career. Freitag termed sophomore Chris Brady’s 73 “solid” and pointed out freshman Liebelei Lawrence was one-under par over her last 11 holes en route to shooting 76. Sophomore Kristen Svicarovich, the team leader two weeks ago at the NCAA Preview, had a 76 and Julie Bartholomew added a non-counting 81. Play continues tomorrow with tee times from the first and tenth hole starting at 7:30. Vanderbilt’s pairings begin at 9:09 from the first tee. The tournament concludes with 18 holes Sunday. |
