Huskies Tied for Seventh After Round One of NCAA Regionals
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The University of Washington women's golf team currently sits in a tie for seventh place after the first round of the 2021 NCAA Columbus Regionals on Monday. The Huskies posted an 8-over 296 which is just five strokes back from sixth place. The top six teams in the 18-team field after the three-day, 54-hole event on the par-72, 6,358-yard Scarlet Course advance to the 2021 National Championships.
"Today was a solid start for us and I'm proud of the team after not being able to play a practice round yesterday due to the weather," said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. " Rino had a great finish and Brittany's round was particularly solid with 17 pars. We just need to keep hitting shots and continue to improve over the next two days."
Washington was led by senior Rino Sasaki as she is tied for 15th with her even-par 72. Despite opening with a bogey on her first hole of the day, the senior would go on to make just one more error on the day, a double on the par-4 seventh. She made par on 13 holes and finished the day going 3-under over the final four holes of the round.
Sitting just one stroke behind her was sophomore Brittany Kwon who led the 96-player field with 17 pars in an almost perfect round. Kwon also bogeyed the par-4 first hole on the day but went on to finish her round with a clean scorecard, putting her in a tie for 23rd with a 1-over 73.
Freshman Stefanie Deng is tied for 40th as she carded a 3-over 75. The newcomer had a birdie-bogey combination midway through her front nine to make the turn at even par. After a double bogey on the 11th, Deng knocked in her first career eagle as a Husky on the par-5, 490-yard 12th hole. She added three-straight bogeys after the eagle, finishing with a 75 on the day.
In her first NCAA Regionals appearance, junior Martha Lewis finished with a 4-over 76 which is tied for 53rd following round one. Lewis' start got her to 3-over after the first three holes but she responded with a birdie on the fourth. She then made par on the next nine holes before adding two more bogeys over the last five holes of the day.
Freshman Camille Boyd rounded out the UW lineup on Monday as she is tied for 62nd at 5-over 77. Boyd's round started strong as she only had one error on her front nine with eight pars to make the turn at 1-over. She got back to even-par with a birdie on the 12th but would make bogey on five of her last six holes to finish at 5-over.
Round two of the NCAA Columbus Regionals tees off at 5 a.m. PT for the Huskies who are paired with Virginia and Vanderbilt. Oklahoma holds the team lead at 2-under 286 while No. 1 seed Duke is in second at 1-under 28 and Michigan is third at even-par. 288.