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Vanderbilt Finishes Fifth at NCAA Women’s Golf Championships For Best Finish In Program History 5-22-04 5/22/2004 OPELIKA, Ala. — Vanderbilt’s women’s golf team finished in fifth place — the best in program history — Saturday at the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships. The three leading teams — UCLA, Duke and Oklahoma State — were still on the course as this report was filed. Complete standings are available on golfstat.com Vanderbilt Coach Martha Richards Freitag was understandably proud of her third rated team. “To place in the top five with a team of four speaks volumes about what kind of players and what kind of people we have on this team,” Freitag said after the Commodores finished. “They showed character, composure and competitiveness and I couldn’t be more proud of them.” “We have no excuses,” Freitag continued. “We played to win and did a great job.” Seniors Sarah Jacobs and Courtney Wood finished their Commodore careers. Jacobs appears headed for a Top 10 finish after shooting a one-under 71 to finish the 72-hole event at one-under par. “I came here to win the tournament so in a way I am a bit disappointed that I couldn’t take it lower,” Jacobs said. “However, I was satisfied with all but my third round. I wanted to enjoy my last college event and I think that attitude helped me.” Mother Nature didn’t help Jacobs during her final round. Given yesterday’s three hour lightning delay, the interruptions played havoc with her momentum. “I came out hot yesterday,” Jacobs said, “and I didn’t want to stop playing when the weather struck. I couldn’t quite recapture my rhythm after the break and then this morning I could not make a putt. The round became three separate pieces.” Wood finished with a 77, as did Kristen Svicarovich, who suffered a disastrous 8 on the 160-yard par 3 15th hole to begin her Saturday. Chris Brady fared better, firing a one-under 71. “I was glad to be on a team this good,” Brady said afterward, “and very fortunate to be able to play a year with seniors such as Courtney and Sarah. I learned a lot from them and will miss them next year.” Vanderbilt won five tournaments during its banner year, including the Southeastern Conference title and the championship in the NCAA Central Regional. Vanderbilt Women’s Golfers Fourth; Weather Delay Until Saturday OPELIKA, Ala. — Vanderbilt and California were locked in a tight battle for fourth place at the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships Friday when a three-hour lightning delay forced the tournament field to leave the course with unfinished business. The final holes will be played Saturday morning with the Commodores and California deadlocked at 20-over par. UCLA leads Duke by three shots and Oklahoma State by four with about nine holes remaining for the leaders. Vanderbilt cannot hope to catch that trio. After clearing the Lake Course at approximately 3 p.m. when lightning entered the area, tournament officials made the decision to resume play at 6:15 and the competition resumed until darkness fell 75 minutes later. Most individuals played about five holes after the break. Vanderbilt’s Sarah Jacobs had a torrid start, going four-under after four holes and she is now tied for fourth place individually with six holes remaining. She was three-under for her 12-hole day. The Davidson Academy product birdied No. 1 with a 15-foot putt, then rolled in an eight-footer on the second for another birdie and drilled a 55-foot putt from the front edge of the par 5 fourth hole for eagle. “I was very disappointed that we had the storm delay,” Jacobs said. “When you get that kind of momentum going early you want to keep playing. After the delay you need to find a way to rekindle it.” “We were off to a fast start in most cases,” said Coach Martha Richards Freitag. “We gave a few stokes back after the long delay but basically it was a pretty good day for us.” Freshman Kristen Svicarovich had it going well at two-under when the delay struck. The Oregon native bogeyed three of her five holes after the break and sits at one-over par with four holes remaining. “I felt as though I was rushing my shots a bit as it grew darker,” Svicarovich admitted. “My short game failed me but I believe I will come back in the morning and finish out well.” One Commodore who may have benefited from the delay was senior Courtney Wood, who ironically was the only Vanderbilt player over-par in the early going. “I made a good par save on No. 9 after we came back out and that got me going,” Wood said. The Brentwood, Tenn., graduate was four-over before the storm and one-under afterward. Vanderbilt’s Chris Brady seemed much stronger than yesterday and her scorecard showed it. The North Carolina freshman is two-under par on this round with three birdies against a lone bogey. She has five holes to play. “I was putting much better today,” Brady noted, “and my short iron game was setting up the putts. I made a 12-footer at No. 11 for birdie and a 5-footer at 13 for another.” Cal’s Sarah Huarte, paired with Sarah Jacobs, is leading the individual leader board at 11-under par. Oklahoma State’s Karin Sjodin is six-under in second place. Saturday’s play is set to begin at 8:00 a.m. and the 2004 national champion should be decided in about two hours. For complete team and individual standings, check golfstat.com Vanderbilt Fifth at NCAA Women’s Golf Through 54 Holes OPELIKA, Ala. — Vanderbilt overcame a sluggish start and some putting woes to remain among the leaders Thursday at the NCAA Women’s Golf Championships. The Commodores struggled to a 302 total, 14-over par today, and were in fifth place, two shots behind California. UCLA, Oklahoma State and Duke separated themselves from the field of 24 teams. Courtney Wood led Vanderbilt in this third round with an even par 72 while Sarah Jacobs had three three-putt greens en route to a 75, placing her even par after 54 holes. Freshmen Chris Brady and Kristen Svicarovich added 77 and 78, respectively. “We had some trouble on the greens and left quite a few shots out there but I believe the significant thing is that we found a way to stay high on the leader board when it wasn’t our best day,” said Coach Martha Richards Freitag. “I believe we will iron out our problems and play very well tomorrow.” “I feel good about my game,” Wood said shortly after completing her round. “I have been close to coming in under par all week and I’m starting to putt better. The course sets up well for me.” Wood, who will begin her professional career next week with a Futures Tour event in Indiana, had three birdies and three bogeys on her round. Jacobs appeared to have had another of her typically steady rounds but afterward said she felt stressed during the round. “The rules officials kept on us all day about taking too much time,” Jacobs said, noting the entire round had been completed in a quick 4 and a half hours. “As a result I felt rushed and couldn’t settle down. I am disappointed with my putting, I played about the same way as I did yesterday (when she shot 69) but I couldn’t get the putter going.” Jacobs is in 11th place individually and says she plans to approach tomorrow’s final round the same way as the first three. “I’ve begun to play a bit more aggressively, especially when it seems reasonable,” Jacobs says. “As a result, I have been giving myself a few more opportunities for birdie.” Svicarovich had a rough first nine (Vanderbilt began on No. 10), going six over par quickly. However, the Oregon freshman regained the form that carried her to a one-under 71 yesterday by playing her final nine even par. Brady was exasperated with her putting stoke and round of 77. “I think I will spend my evening on the putting green,” said the all-SEC freshman after her round. “I lost confidence in my putting grip in the middle of yesterday’s round and I changed grips and finished ok. Today I was mentally out of focus; sometimes it seemed I wanted to change grips seconds before a stroke and that is no way to play the game.” Vanderbilt, playing without the ineligible SEC Co-Player of the Year May Wood, is poised for its best NCAA finish in program history. A year ago the Commodores were 14th for their previous best placing. The tournament is being played over the beautiful Lakes Course at the Grand National Golf Club. Thursday’s weather was near ideal with a light breeze and high’s in the low 90’s.
Vanderbilt Climbs To Fourth At NCAA Championships After 36 Holes OPELIKA, Ala. — The Vanderbilt women’s golf team fired a 4-under par 284 to climb into fourth place after 36 holes of the NCAA Championship at the Grand National Lake Course. Vanderbilt’s 284 is its lowest this season and is tied for the fourth lowest 18-hole round in school history. It is also the lowest single-round total for a Commodore squad at the NCAA Championships. Senior Sarah Jacobs is currently tied for second place at 141 after carding a 3-under par 69 Wednesday. She started the day in tenth place. Jacobs, who had an eagle, two birdies and four bogeys on Tuesday, recorded four birdies and just one bogey on Wednesday. Her 69 ties her career-low set once in each of the last two seasons. Jacobs trails UCLA’s Susie Matthews by one shot after Matthews matched Jacobs with a 69 on Wednesday for a 141 total. Matthews and Jacobs have played together in each of the first two rounds. Freshman Chris Brady is tied for 27th at 146 after an even-par 72 on Wednesday. Senior Courtney Wood also turned in a 72 as she moved into a tie for 33rd at 147, while freshman Kristin Svicarovich shaved six strokes off her opening round score with a 1-under par 71 for a 148 total. She enters Thursday tied for 42nd. Play was halted due to inclement weather late Wednesday with 12 teams still on the course. The second round will continue action at 7 a.m. Thursday. The rest of the field will begin with regularly-scheduled tee times at 8 a.m. Only one stroke separates second-ranked UCLA and top-ranked Duke of the 12 teams that completed play in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship at the par-72, 6251-yard Grand National Lake Course. The Bruins fired a 5-under 283 for a two-day total 572 while the Blue Devils carded a 4-under 284 for 573 Wednesday. The morning session was highlighted by the pairing of Duke, UCLA and Vanderbilt, which produced 46 birdies and one eagle. Eleven of the players’ 14 rounds were at or below par.
Vanderbilt Women Fifth After First Round of NCAA Golf Championships
OPELIKA, Ala. — One week after losing its Southeastern Conference Co-Player of the Year to ineligibility, Vanderbilt battled its way into fifth place tie after the first round of the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship Tuesday. The third ranked Commodores, playing without May Wood and with just four members instead of the normal team of five, shot ten over-par 298, ten shots behind Oklahoma State. Senior Sarah Jacobs led Vanderbilt with an even-par 72, highlighted by an eagle two on the ninth hole. Courtney Wood was cruising along at one-under par through 14 when she took a quadruple-bogey seven on the par 3 15th. She had five birdies in her round of 75. Commodore freshmen Chris Brady and Kristen Svicarovich had steady starts. Brady had two birdies on the backside to offset four bogeys while Svicarovich had the team’s second eagle of the day with a deuce on No. 16. Allison Hannah of Ohio State and Alison Curdt of Florida State are the individual leaders at three-under 69. Jacobs’ 72 puts her into a tie for 12th place heading into tomorrow’s second round. The tournament, being conducted on the Lake Course at Grand National, is a 72-hole contest that concludes Friday. Complete results are available on golfstat.com Commodore Results Team Leaders Individual Leaders |
