Colorado State University Athletics
Colorado State
Mountain West Championship Day 2
Rams fifth through two rounds at MWC championship
4/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 17, 2009
By Danny Mattie
Athletic Media Relations
SEASIDE, Calif. – The Colorado State women’s golf team shaved seven strokes from its opening-round team total on Friday, and improved two places to move into fifth, within striking distance of the top three, entering Saturday’s final round at the par-72, 6,027-yard Black Horse Golf Course.
“We really put together a good performance today,” said Head Coach Angie Hopkins. “The team got off to a poor start on Thursday and this is a very difficult course to play when you start slowly. But that was not the case today. We started very well and everyone finished very strong.”
After playing through very windy conditions in Thursday’s opening round, calmer conditions helped several Rams card improved scores on Friday. Freshman Melissa Martin improved her score by seven strokes in the second round and led CSU with a 3-over 75, just one stroke better than the Rams’ No. 1 player, Kasey Claussen. Claussen, who led CSU with five birdies in the round, hit an impressive 11 greens in regulation to jump from 23rd to a tie for 15th with a two-round total of 156 (+12).
Junior Natalie Stone shaved five strokes from her scorecard, firing a 5-over 77 in Round 2 and currently sits in a tie for 23rd overall. Senior Stefanie Ferguson matched her Round 1 performance (7-over) on Friday and is one stroke ahead of Stone’s pace with a two-round total of 158 (+14).
Freshman Brianna Espinoza still sits atop the leader board for the Rams. After opening with a stellar performance of 1-over 73, Espinoza fell off slightly in the second round, finishing at 7-over-par. She enters Saturday’s final round as the Rams’ top performer and is in sole possession of ninth place with a two-round total of 152 (+8).
“Our goal coming into the tournament was a top-three finish,” added Hopkins. “After today’s performance we feel like we are in a very good position, and have a great shot and challenging for one of the top spots.”
The Rams trail fourth-place UNLV (+44) by just one stroke and sit three strokes behind third-place BYU (+42). New Mexico (+22) and TCU (+31) rank first and second, respectively, entering the final round. Wyoming (+50) fell into sixth place, one stroke better than last-place San Diego State.
Wyoming’s Jonelle Martinez sits atop the individual leader board, seven strokes ahead of Espinoza with a 1-over 145 through 36 holes.
The Rams, paired with UNLV, will tee off to begin Round 3 at 9:30 a.m. MT. Live scoring is available throughout the tournament at www.GolfStat.com.
| 5 | Colorado State | 314-307--621 |
| 9 | Brianna Espinoza | 73-79--152 |
| T15 | Kasey Claussen | 80-76--156 |
| T18 | Melissa Martin | 82-75--157 |
| T21 | Stefanie Ferguson | 79-79--158 |
| T23 | Natalie Stone | 82-77--159 |
