With Miami’s veteran senior, Renate Grimstad of Norway,
taking control of the individual race, the Hurricanes will take a narrow
one-shot lead over two tough chasers into the final round of the UCF Challenge
at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.
Grimstad fired the day’s best round, a sparkling 5-under-par
67 over the 6,349-yard, par-72 Eagle Creek layout Monday, to take a five-shot
lead in the individual standings at 11-under 133 heading into Tuesday’s final
round. Grimstad had five birdies and nary a bogey on her scorecard.
Grimstad and Michigan State’s Yurika Tanida, a junior from
Japan, had opened the tournament Sunday with matching 6-under 66s. Tanida
matched par with a 72 Monday, but held onto second place in the individual
standings at 6-under 138.
The Hurricanes, No. 39 in the latest Golfstat rankings,
earned their seventh straight NCAA bid last spring and were seeded sixth going
into the Cle Elum Regional in Washington, but never really got in the hunt for
a chance to advance to the NCAA Championship.
Miami, under the direction of head coach Patti Rizzo, a
former LPGA Tour performer, finished eighth in a tough field in the Atlantic
Coast Conference Championship, which produced the two finalists in that NCAA
Championship last spring at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. in
national champion Duke and runnerup Wake Forest.
But Grimstad and some talented youngsters have Miami atop a
strong field in the first big women’s tournament of the spring portion of the
2019-2020 season. Miami added a solid 8-under 280 Monday to its opening round
of 1-under 287 for a 9-under 567 total.
The best round of the day belonged to one of Division I’s
perennial powers, No. 3 Kent State, which fired an 8-under 279 to charge into a
tie for second place with Big Ten power Michigan State, ranked 13th,
at 8-under 568. The Golden Flashes, under first-year head coach Lisa Strom, the
1994 PIAA champion as a senior at Lansdale Catholic, had opened with a 1-over
289.
Michigan State held a five-shot lead after opening with a
solid 6-under 282, but the Spartans backed off a little with a 2-under 286, but
remain very much in the hunt for the team title, a shot behind Miami in the tie
for second place with Kent State.
Upstart Sacramento State, ranked 64th, traveled
across the country to play in some unfamiliar surroundings, but added a 3-under
285 to its opening-round 290 and is alone in fourth place at 1-under 575.
Another Big Ten power, No. 70 Purdue, and No. 15 Oklahoma
State out of the Big 12 are tied for fifth place at 2-over 578, a shot behind
Sacramento State. The Boilermakers carded their second straight 1-over 289
while the Cowgirls bounced back from an opening-round 293 with a solid 5-under
285.
No. 79 Penn State, another Big Ten entry, added a solid
1-over 289 to its opening-round 290 that left the Nittany Lions alone in
seventh place in the 16-team field at 3-over 579.
Penn State got another strong individual showing from Sarah
Willis, a sophomore from Eaton, Ohio who added a 3-under 69 to her opening-round
70 and is tied for third place with Old Dominion’s Jana Melichova, a sophomore
from the Czech Republic, at 5-under 139.
Miami was solid behind Grimstad with Kristyna Frydlova, a
junior from the Czech Republic, Franziska Sliper, a freshman who followed
Grimstad to South Florida from Norway, and Anna Backman, a sophomore from
Finland, separated by just two shots.
Frydlova carded a solid 2-under 70 after opening with a 74 and
was tied for 23rd place at even-par 144. Sliper matched par with a
72 after opening with a 73 to land among the group tied for 25th
place at 1-over 145.
Backman broke par with a 1-under 71 after opening with a 75
and was among the group tied for 35th place at 2-over 146.
Rounding out the Miami lineup was Daniella Barrett, a
freshman and a fellow Finn of Backman’s who posted a 78 and is among the group
tied for 63rd place at 8-over 152. Barrett’s opening round of 2-over
74 was a counter for the Hurricanes.
Old Dominion’s Melichova added a 2-under 70 to her
opening-round 69 to get her share of third place with Penn State’s Willis, a
shot behind Michigan State’s Tanida.
A couple of Sacramento State entries, Nishtha Madan, a senior
from India, and Tess Blair, a freshman from South Jordan, Utah, were both among
a group of six players tied for fifth place at 3-under 141. Madan fired a
4-under 68 after opening with a 1-over 73 while Blair added a 3-under 69 to her
opening round of even-par 72.
Oklahoma State’s Lianna Bailey, a sophomore from England,
matched Madan’s sparkling 4-under 68 to get a piece of that tie for fifth at
3-under 141. Bailey had opened with a 1-over 73.
Rounding out the group at 3-under were Kent State’s Chloe Salort,
a junior from France, Purdue’s Kan Bunnabodee, a freshman from Thailand, and
Illinois’ Ali Morallos, a junior from Long Beach, Calif.
Salort added a 3-under 69 to her opening-round 72,
Bunnabodee posted a 2-under 70 after opening with a 71 and Morallos posted a
1-under 71 after opening with a 70.
Backing up Willis for Denise St. Pierre’s Nittany Lions was
Frenchwoman Mathilde Delavallade, who has been a solid addition to the lineup
in her freshman season. Delavallade matched par with a 72 after opening with a
1-under 71 to join the group tied for 18th place at 1-under 143.
Madelein Herr, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at
Council Rock North, is off to a good start to the spring portion of her senior
season. Herr added a 2-over 74 to her opening-round 71 to land in the group
tied for 25th place at 1-over 145.
Junior Olivia Zambruno, the 2016 PIAA Class AA champion as a
senior at Greensburg Central Catholic, bounced back from an opening-round 80
with a 2-over 74 that left her among the group tied for 79th place
at 10-over 154.
Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Isha Dhruva, a
freshman from Katy, Texas who added a 4-over 76 to her opening-round 78 to join
Zambruno in the group tied for 79th place at 154.
Another freshman, Lauren Freyvogel, the 2017 PIAA Class AAA
champion as a junior at Pine Richland, is competing as an individual. Freyvogel
carded a solid 3-over 75 after opening with a 78 and is a shot ahead of
Zambruno and Dhruva in the individual standings in the group tied for 68th
place at 9-over 153.
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