McKINNEY, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi golf team shot an opening-round 323 in a rain-interrupted day one at the 2015 Southland Women's Golf Championship. Nagisa Miura led the Islanders with a 79 in the first 18 holes.
The Islanders were midway through their round when a torrential downpour halted play at 10:23 a.m. With lightning and severe flooding throughout the course, the teams were sent back to their hotel until later in the day. The weather cleared, though, and play was able to resume at 3 p.m., over four-and-a-half hours after the delay started.
"We had a good practice round, and our performance before the delay was pretty solid," head coach Carol Blackmar said, "but I was disappointed with how we played after the break. We had an opportunity to show our growth today, and we let it slip through our fingers. The good news is, tomorrow we can come out with a new energy, and hopefully we will attack the course like we did on Sunday."
Central Arkansas leads the team competition after shooting an opening-round 301, with two-time defending champion Lamar six shots back in second place. Stephen F. Austin delivered a strong 311 to sit in third, just one stroke ahead of Houston Baptist. Sam Houston State (316) sits in fifth, three strokes ahead of McNeese State (319). The Islanders are just four shots back of the Cowgirls in seventh, 16 shots clear of eighth-place Incarnate Word.
Individually, UCA sits 1-2, with Brenda Gonzalez' even-par 72 the best round of the day. She sits one shot ahead of teammate Malin Senneryd, who posted 73. Lamar's Taylor Stockton sits in third with a 75, while HBU's Caitlyn Cassidy fired a 76. Six different players notched a 77 on the day in a tie for fifth.
Playing in the number two slot, Miura started the round strong, with par on each of the first four holes. She stumbled with three consecutive bogeys on five, six and seven, but bounced back on the par-3 eighth with a three, and delivered a solid tee shot on the ninth before the horn sounded for the inclement weather delay. After the break, she stumbled on her first shot, as a wayward strike from the fairway left her among the trees to the left of the hole. But she rallied to save bogey on that hole, and was solid from there forward, posting six pars and three bogeys on the back to finish at 7-over on the day.
Sophomore Ana Paredes had the strongest start of any of the Islanders, sitting 1-over through the first seven holes and narrowly missing a 30-foot birdie putt on the third. But she was victimized by the weather, arriving at the eighth tee as the downpour approached. With the heavy rain picking up, but play still on, her tee shot went right, into the water, just before the horn sounded to begin the delay. She completed the eighth after the break, finishing with a triple-bogey six on the hole. After par on the ninth, a double on 10 and a bogey on 13 set her back to 7-over. She bounced back with her lone birdie of the round on the 14th, placing a beautiful approach just a foot away from the hole and tapping in. But a bogey on 16 and a double on the final hole of the round sent her into the clubhouse with an 81.
Freshman Anna Millet-Esteve started with six pars and a pair of bogeys in her first eight holes, including a brilliant up-and-down from the left greenside bunker on seven and strong tee shots on both the second and the eighth to set up par on each. She faltered on the ninth with a double to fall to 4-over, and then bogeyed the 10th to sit plus-5 before the delay hit. She started the afternoon strong, finishing off a par on the 11th, but then ran into four bogeys on the next five holes to sit 9-over with two holes to play. She responded with a par on 17, then finished off a long putt on the 18th to save par on that hole as well, matching Paredes with an 81 of her own.
Olivia Lowe had completed the 11th hole at 5-over par at the blow of the horn. Her finest hole was her final one of the morning, as she nearly delivered a hole-in-one on 11, and was able to tap in for a birdie. That was one of a pair of birdies on the day for the San Antonio native, as she also registered a three at the par-4 ninth with a strong approach shot that left her seven feet from the hole. But she faltered after the break, posting bogey on each of her first five holes after the delay before finishing with consecutive pars to post an 82.
Julia Dereniwsky had just completed the ninth hole when the rain arrived. The freshman felt the adverse effect of the weather throughout her day on the front, sitting 10-over heading to the 10th tee. She started the afternoon with a solid par on the 10th and then a 20-foot birdie from the front edge of the green on the par-3 11th to sit 9-over. But a misfired approach on the 12th set up consecutive bogeys, and they were followed by a double on the 16th and a bogey on 18 to finish the day with an 86.
The Islanders will once again be paired with Incarnate Word in round two of the Championship, teeing off on Tuesday morning. Dereniwsky will be the first to start her round, at 8 a.m., followed by Lowe at 8:09. Millet-Esteve (8:18), Paredes (8:27) and Miura (8:36) will round out the tee times for the second 18 holes of the event.
Live stats, course information and more can be found at Southland.org/WGolf, and live stats will also be available on the Islanders Front Row app, at GoIslanders.com/FrontRow. Updates will also be provided on Twitter as they become available.
