May 18, 2010
| Head Coach Greg Allen | Anna Leigh Keith |
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The Commodores ended the first day of competition at the NCAA Championships in Wilmington, N.C., in a tie for 12th place after firing an eight-over par, 296. Freshman Anna Leigh Keith tied her best round of the season and career Tuesday with a first-round 71 to lead all Vanderbilt individuals.
The Commodores overcame some early round jitters to take the lead in the tournament when the team made the turn heading towards the back nine. The back nine ended up being a struggle for Vanderbilt, as the team counted a collective 10-over par.
A bright spot for the Commodores on the back nine was Keith, who after double-bogeying number 10 and bogeying 13, put together four birdies in her last five holes to put herself in a tie for 14th heading into the second round on Wednesday.
“I started making some putts, and not hitting crazy shots. It was fun,” said Keith. “I got it going.”
Vanderbilt’s round really was a tale of two rounds. Two of the Commodores’ counters on Tuesday made the turn at even par (Keith and Brooke Goodwin), and two made the turn at one-under (Megan Grehan and Marina Alex).
“We were the first team off and shot eight over, not great, not terrible,” said Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen. “We didn’t shoot ourselves out of it, but we didn’t need a team to go low. Then again, there’s still 54 holes to play, which is an entire tournament for us, so there is a lot of golf left. We didn’t have our best, although we had it going for a little while, but we did some good things.
“It was a really solid round for Anna Leigh,” said Allen. “She made the turn at even par, doubled 10 and was at three-over after 13 holes, but she rallied, like this team has done I believe they will do again later this week. I’m really proud of her.”
Vanderbilt trails the leader, Southern California, by 14 strokes heading into the second round Wednesday. The Trojans shot a six-under par, 282, in there first 18 holes at the Country Club of Landfall. Purdue trails USC by two strokes at four-under par.
Individually, there is a three-way tie for the lead after the first round. Jennifer Johnson of Arizona State, Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Purdue, and Jennifer Song of USC are all at five-under par.
The second round of the tournament continues on Wednesday. Vanderbilt will tee off of the 10th tee beginning at 12:20 p.m. EST.
