Steady Round Two for Arizona at NCAA Championship
05/22/2016 | Women's Golf
TUCSON, Ariz. – The University of Arizona women's golf team continued play at the NCAA Championships at the Eugene Country Club on Saturday in Eugene, Oregon. After the second round, the Wildcats are in seventh place, carding a team score of 289 (+1) on Saturday.
Freshman Haley Moore remained the team's leader, finishing with a 70 (-2), which puts her in a tie for fourth place. Moore fired an opening-round 68 Friday. Moore mentioned after the round that she wanted to remain consistent, and it was clear Saturday that she managed that. She is only three strokes away from the top spot.
Moore was followed closely by freshman Gigi Stoll, who notched five birdies and captured a 71 (-1). This was a reversal of her 82 (+10) from the opening round, and her contribution to the team score was particularly valuable.
“I played a lot better today,” said Stoll. “After having a tough round yesterday, I was able to bounce back. Shooting one-under par today was really important. My mentality switched a little bit, it's really that I am playing for the team now. Today was just all around a better day and I'm looking forward to the rest of the week.”
Sophomore Krystal Quihuis notched a 74 (+2) in the second round. In conjunction with her 73 (+1) from Friday, she is holding a share of 54th place. Senior Lindsey Weaver finished with a 74 (+2) and is tied for 67th after her first round of a 74 (+2). Junior Jessica Vasilic earned a 74 (+2) in the second round and a 76 (+4) in the first.
“We started a little flat,” said assistant head coach Derek Radley. “But the ladies picked it up once we got into it. Haley played steady all day. I was excited and proud of Gigi, she had a rough first round yesterday, but she came back blazing today and finished at one-under. So I am proud of her. It was a team effort, when one is down, the other four pick her back up. I am excited to keep going, I feel like we are right there. I think it is going to be a great tournament.”
Stoll's round of 71 (-1) came alongside five birdies, after she rallied from a double bogey on the 355-yard, par-4 No. 2. She then made a major turnaround with two birdies on the front nine and three on the back. That effort helped keep the team's score, and her strokes gained in the coming rounds will be a big help for the Wildcats.
Arizona is still in a good spot after the second round, as the top eight teams in the field will advance to match play on Tuesday. Following tomorrow's round of stroke play, there will be a cut to 15 teams and another cut to eight teams after Monday. The individual champion will be named at this point, and the remaining eight teams will compete in a match-play tournament.
Moore has maintained her position near the top of the leaderboard by notching three birdies in the second round, one on the front nine and two on the back. She is only three strokes back from the current leader Dewi Weber of Miami. Moore has the ability to drive extremely far off the tee, so she turns most par-5 holes into scoring opportunities. She had two putts for eagle today, and put both away for birdies.
Arizona tees off at 7:30 a.m. PST on Sunday. For live scoring of the NCAA Championships, visit the GolfStat website at golfstatresults.com. For more information and updates about the University of Arizona women's golf team, follow @UAWomensGolf on Twitter, uawomensgolf on Instagram and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/ArizonaWomensGolf.
