McKINNEY, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi golf team delivered a 320 in the second round of the 2015 Southland Women's Golf Championship on Tuesday. Anna Millet-Esteve shot a 78 to lead the Islanders in day two of the event at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club's Hills Course.
"We got off to a tough start, but rebounded pretty well in the middle of the round, and it looked like we were on our way to a solid day," head coach Carol Blackmar said. "But again, we lost our focus at the end of the round, and that really cost us. If we are going to be successful as a team, we need to find a way to stay in the present and carry our strong play all the way through the final hole."
Central Arkansas stayed atop the team leaderboard with its second straight 301, but two-time defending champion Lamar made a hard charge in round two, carding a 296 to sit just one shot back heading into the final 18 holes. Stephen F. Austin notched a 298 to solidify its standing in third through 36 holes at 609, with Houston Baptist in fourth with a two-round 616 (312-304). Sam Houston State (316-305—621) is in fifth, followed by McNeese State (319-305—624), the Islanders (323-320—643) and Incarnate Word (339-315—654).
Individually, UCA holds the top two spots with senior Malin Senneryd leading the way with a 146 (73-73), two shots ahead of her teammate, Brenda Gonzalez (72-76—148). Lamar's Taylor Stockton (75-75—150), SFA's Jessica White (78-72—150) and SHSU's Paige Nelson (80-70—150) are in a three-way tie for third in the individual title hunt.
For the Islanders, Millet-Esteve had a turbulent start to her round, alternating bogeys and pars on the first seven holes to sit plus-4 heading to the eighth. She knocked in a par on 8, and that began a string of seven straight pars for the freshman, including a 20-foot putt for par on the 11th. Consecutive bogeys on 15 and 16 set her back to 6-over, but she responded with a nice par on the 17th and a strong par save on 18 to card a 78 for the day and hold a 159 through the opening 36 holes of the tournament.
Sophomore Ana Paredes started her round with pars on the first three holes, but bogeys on four and five set her back to 2-over. She added pars on six and seven, but followed that with a bogey on the eighth. On nine, she wound up with a tough lie along the cart path, but was still able to manage to post a bogey. She carried that momentum onto the back nine, running off seven straight pars to remain plus-4 heading to the 17th. But a bogey on 17 and a double on 18 completed her round, as she posted 79 for the day to sit at 160 after two rounds.
Freshman Julia Dereniwsky had a wild round in her second 18 holes of the tournament. After bogeys on two of the first three holes, she rebounded with a birdie on the fourth to move to plus-1. But she followed that with a double on the fifth before a par on six. Again, she bounced back, delivering a birdie on the par-5 7th to move to plus-2. She delivered a par on eight before a double bogey on nine set her back to 4-over. She played the first six holes on the back nine at even par, including a birdie on 11 for the second straight day, but shot plus-5 over the last three holes to enter the clubhouse with an 81 for the day with a two-round 167.
Nagisa Miura got off to a rough start at 3-over through the first two holes, but the freshman was able to right the ship with three straight pars on holes 3-5. She carded bogeys on both 6 and 8 to fall to plus-5, but was able to shoot even par over the next six holes, including her only birdie of the round on the par-3 11th. But she faltered on the par-3 15th, posting the first of two straight double bogeys, and closed out the round with a bogey on the 18th to finish her round with an 82 for a 161 through the opening 36 holes.
Freshman Olivia Lowe saw her second round get off to a rocky start, as six bogeys in the first seven holes left her plus-6 on her way to the eighth, which has played as one of the toughest holes on the course. Lowe came up strong there, as she was able to card pars on both eight and nine, but then bogeyed three of the next four to move to plus-9. She responded with consecutive pars on 14, 15 and 16, but finished with a bogey five on both the 17th and 18th to conclude her round with an 83 and a two-round total of 165.
The Islanders will be paired with Incarnate Word for the third consecutive time, teeing off on Wednesday morning for round three of the Championship. Dereniwsky will be the first to start her round, at 8 a.m., followed by Lowe at 8:09. Miura (8:18), Paredes (8:27) and Millet-Esteve (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.
