CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A coach never knows how a young player will react to her first competition at the collegiate level or after a long break from action. Players can fold under the pressure or allow nerves to regress their game back five years. For Dani Bergmann, the opening day of the spring season sparked a top-five finish heading into round three, as the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi golf team finished the first two rounds of the Islander Classic in fifth place at 41-over (305-312—617).
Clipping at the rookie's heels is senior Vanessa Johnson, who is playing in her final home tournament in her collegiate career. The Corpus Christi native is two shots back of Bergman's two-over, 146 (72-74).
"It's really exciting to see Dani and Vanessa playing well," head coach Carol Blackmar said. "They have both worked extremely hard during the offseason. I'm proud of Dani scoring twice in her first Islander Classic. Vanessa is right behind her pushing her."
RELATED: Leaderboard
The hosts sit in fifth place and trail leaders UTSA by 37 shots through two rounds of competition. A&M-Corpus Christi missed out on playing in the lead group in the final round by just 11 strokes.
"As a team, we have not played well enough to be successful," added Blackmar. "We had a lot of things that we could have done better, but we need four scores. We need better play from our three and four players. There were a lot of things we did well today, but it could have been better.
"Tomorrow, I believe we will be much better. It was our first day of competition in four months. We will learn from our mistakes today and come back tomorrow ready to attack the course.
ROUND 1, +17, 305
After the Islanders starting the first round of the tournament in the lead group, the Blue and Green found itself in sixth place. Bergmann showed no sign of rust following four months without competition, posting three birdies. The German international matched her career low with an even-par, 72, to finish in a tie for fourth place after the opening round.
Johnson came out firing in the first round with four birdies to card a one-over, 73, to start the second round tied for sixth. Ana Paredes, playing in the number one position, carded a seven-over, 79, while Julia Dereniwsky followed two shots back to round out the scoring for the Islanders.
Olivia Lowe turned in a six-over, 78, in the first 18 holes. Fellow individual Michelle Grilliette, playing in her first career tournament, nearly capped a perfect first round, but five-over on the final three holes led to a nine-over, 81. Anne Millett-Esteve posted an 86 for her opening round.
UTSA led the field after 18 holes with at one-over, while Lamar and Sam Houston State followed by eight and nine shots back, respectively. Julie Houston of UTSA was one of three players to go under par for the first round with her four-under, 68.
ROUND 2, +24, 312
In the afternoon, Bergmann continued where she left off, carding a pair of birdies on the back-nine to finish with a two-over, 74. Johnson capped her day with a three-over, 75, to move into a tie for seventh place heading into the final round.
Dereniwsky and Paredes tallied the other two scoring rounds for A&M-Corpus Christi with an eight-over, 80, and 11-over, 83, respectively.
Grilliette posted the third lowest round for the Islanders and the lowest for an individual on the day with a three-over, 75, leading to a 12-over, 156, to tie for 27th place.
A tough final three holes for Paredes led to a 13-over, 85, while Lowe bested that score by a stroke to cap her second round.
UTSA were electric at the Corpus Christi Country Club, finishing the day with at four-over (289-291—580). Lamar and Sam Houston State trail the Roadrunners by 18 and 26 strokes, respectively, to round out the top-three.
Julie Houston leads a pair of Lamar Cardinals by five-strokes with the only two-round score under par.
ON THE TEE
The Islanders wrap their home tournament tomorrow at 8 a.m. with the final round of play in the Islander Classic. A&M-Corpus Christi will go off with Houston Baptist and North Texas on holes 5-8. Lowe and Grilliette will start on 13 and 18, respectively.
STAY SOCIAL
For all the latest on Islanders Golf, be sure to follow the team on Twitter (@IslandersGolf) and like the team's official Facebook page (IslandersGolf).
- Go Ders -
