Fredgaard leads the way as Houston surges to top of leaderboard in UCF Challenge

    The temperature dropped and the winds picked up in central Florida Monday and, as a result, the scores went up in the second round of the UCF Challenge, one of the first big gatherings of women’s Division I golf talent of the spring being held at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Fla.

   There are a lot of “power five” conference teams in the 17-team field in the UCF Challenge, but it was the American Athletic Conference’s Houston that jumped to the top of the leaderboard on the strength of a 7-under-par 281 team round over the 6,349-yard, par-72 Eagle Creek layout that was easily the best of the day.

   The Cougars had opened with a solid 8-under 280 in Sunday’s opening round, but that was only good enough for fifth place, seven shots behind Arkansas. Behind a fairly spectacular 5-under 67 from Karen Fredgaard, a sophomore from Denmark, Houston’s 7-under round Monday left the Cougars with a 15-under 561 total.

   Houston, though, has the formidable presence of Atlantic Coast Conference power Wake Forest in the rear-view mirror. The Demon Deacons were the runnerup to ACC rival Duke the last time an NCAA Championship was contested in the spring of 2019 at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. Wake Forest was ranked No. 1 by Golfstat when the ill-fated 2019-2020 season came to a premature end last March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

   Powered by Lauren Walsh, a sophomore from Ireland and No. 42 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), Wake Forest matched par with a 288 Monday and was just four shots behind Houston in second place at 11-under 565.

   Walsh fired a pretty nifty 4-under 68 of her own and joined Fredgaard at the top of the individual leaderboard at 7-under 136. Pretty sure temperatures in the 50s and some wind aren’t quite as big a challenge to players from places like Denmark and Ireland as it might be for those who spend most of their time playing in warm-weather climes in the United States.

   The scary part for Houston is that Wake Forest is right on its heels despite the fact that the Demon Deacons’ best player, Emilia Migliaccio, a senior from Cary, N.C. and No. 10 in the Women’s WAGR, has struggled at Eagle Creek as she added a 76 Monday to her opening-round 77.

   It's been a busy week for Migliaccio in Orlando as she spent Friday and Saturday at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club participating in a practice session for candidates for the United States team for this summer’s Curtis Cup Match in Wales.

   Wake Forest’s ACC rival, Virginia, getting an outstanding debut effort from Jennifer Cleary, the pride of Wilmington, Del. and Tower Hill, was another seven shots behind the Demon Deacons in third place at 4-under 572. Virginia had opened with a 3-under 285 and was the only other team beside Houston to better par Monday with a 1-under 287.

   Kent State might not be a “power-five” team, but make no mistake about it, the Golden Flashes are very much a national power under second-year coach Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA champion at Lansdale Catholic. Kent State struggled a little Monday with a 10-over 298 after opening with a sparkling 12-under 276, but the Golden Flashes, the defending team champions in the UCF Challenge, were still only two shots behind Virginia in fourth place at 2-under 574.

   Southeastern Conference power Arkansas had grabbed the opening-round lead with 15-under 273 total, but the young Razorbacks struggled to a 14-over 302 in Monday’s second round and fell into a share of fifth place with another ACC entry, Miami, at 1-under 575.

   The Hurricanes also started strong with an 11-under 277, but fell back with a 298 in Monday’s second round to get its piece of fifth place with Arkansas.

   Penn State, which got off to a great start with its 4-under 284 in Sunday’s opening round, struggled to a 306 in Monday’s second round that left the Nittany Lions in 13^th place at 590. Penn State was two shots behind Big Ten rival Michigan State, which was alone in 11^th place at 588, and one shot ahead of another perennial Big Ten power, Purdue, which was alone in 14^th place at 291.

   The conditions and a talented field didn’t seem to intimidate Fredgaard one little bit. She actually had it to 7-under with birdies on exactly half of the first 14 holes at Eagle Creek before she made bogeys at the 15^th and 18^th holes on her way to the clubhouse. Fredgaard had opened with a solid 2-under 70 and her 67 in Monday’s second round left her at 7-under 137.

   Backing Fredgaard up for the Cougars was Annie Kim, a junior from South Korea who added a sparkling 3-under 69 to her opening-round 70 and was alone in fourth place in the individual chase at 5-under 139.

   Fredgaard’s fellow Dane in the Houston lineup, freshman Anne Normann, shaved three shots off her opening-round 73 with a 2-under 70 and was part of a group tied for 12^th place at 1-under 143. Ariana Saenz, Houston’s veteran senior from Porter, Texas, added a 75 to her opening-round 70 and was in the group tied for 24^th place at 1-over 145.

   Rounding out the Houston lineup was Zoe Slaughter, a freshman home girl from Houston who struggled to a 79 that left her in the group tied for 53^rd place at 5-over 149. Slaughter, though, made quite a splash in her debut with a 2-under 70 in Sunday’s opening round, one of the four 70s registered by the Cougars that got them off to a strong start.

   Right behind Fredgaard and Walsh at the top of the individual leaderboard was Walsh’s teammate, Rachel Kuehn, a sophomore from Asheville, N.C. After opening with a 6-under 66, Kuehn, winner of last summer’s North & South Women’s Amateur Championship at the Pinehurst Resort’s iconic No. 2 Course, matched par with a 72 that left her a shot behind Fredgaard and Walsh in third place at 6-under 138.

   Kuehn joined her teammate Migliaccio at the practice session for the U.S. Curtis Cup team Friday and Saturday at Lake Nona. Walsh, on the other hand, is one of the 17 women on the Royal & Ancient’s preliminary list for the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team.

   Kennesaw State’s Tia Anudit, a senior from Thailand, was alone in fifth place, a shot behind Houston’s Kim at 4-under 140. Anudit added a 71 to her opening round of 3-under 69. Anudit is probably comfortable in the Orlando area as she won a NJCAA national championship while playing for Seminole State, a community college in nearby Sanford.

   Two of the six players in the group tied for sixth place at 2-under 142 were from Virginia, including Cleary, who added a 2-under 70 to the solid even-par 72 she opened her college career with Sunday.

   In addition to being one of Delaware’s top junior golfers, Cleary would represent Applecross Country Club in Chester County in the Pennsylvania Junior Girls’ Championship each summer and was the runnerup in her final appearance last summer at Lebanon Country Club. Cleary capped her junior career with an impressive victory in the American Junior Golf Association’s Imperial Headwear Junior Classic, which was a home game for her at DuPont Country Club near Wilmington.

   Cleary’s teammate, Celeste Valinho, a sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla., was also at 142 after adding a 73 to her opening-round 69. Low-Cavalier honors for the day, though, went to Virginia’s best player Beth Lillie, a senior from Fullerton, Calif. who improved seven shots from her opening-round 75 with a 4-under 68 that left her in the group tied for 12^th place at 1-under 143.

   Kent State’s Emily Price, a junior from England, had grabbed the opening-round lead with a sizzling 7-under 65, but fell back into the group at 2-under with a 77 Monday. Like Wake Forest’s Walsh, Price is on the R&A’s preliminary list of candidates for GB&I’s Curtis Cup team.

   Rounding out the group tied for sixth place were Kentucky’s Maria Villanueva Aperribay, a sophomore from France, host UCF’s Ann Laura Collado, a junior from Mexico, and Arkansas’ Miriam Ayora, a freshman from Spain.

   Villanueava Aperribay carded a solid 3-under 69 after opening with a 73, Collado posted her second straight 1-under 71 and Ayora added a 73 to her opening-round 69.

   Leading the way for Penn State was Mathilde Delvallade, the Nittany Lions’ talented sophomore from France. After opening with a 2-under 70, Delavallade cooled off with a 76 that left her among the group tied for 31^st place at 2-over 146.

   Three Nittany Lions – graduate student Megan McLean, a Voorhees High product, Isha Dhruva, a sophomore from Katy, Texas, and Victoria Tip-Aucha, a freshman from Vienna, Va. via Thailand – were all in the group tied for 45^th place at 4-over 148. McLean, who had opened with a 2-under 70, struggled to a 78 while Dhruva and Tip-Aucha each added a 76 to their opening-round 72s.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Sarah Willis, a junior from Eaton, Ohio who registered an 82 after opening with a solid 72 and was tied for 82^nd place at 154.

   Sophomore Taylor Waller, a Canon-McMillan product, is competing as an individual and matched Willis’ 82 after opening with a 75 and was alone in 84^th place at 157.