Rams Sit Second After First Day of Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. – To be successful, one can't be afraid to attain more.

The mentality is something Sofia Torres has been chasing for a while now. The idea of taking a good round and making it better has stalled her in the past, sometimes leading to the opposite goal of seeing her score rise instead of fall.

Monday, that wasn't the case for the junior from Columbia, who took a good two rounds and made them even better by carding birdies on the final two holes on her way to a first-day total of a 5-under-par 139 at the Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic.

The score has her in third place on the individual board and it helped put the Rams in second in the team race at 9-under 567, nine behind Nevada (558) which went 10-under the first round, 8-under the second. CSU is one stroke in front of Cal Poly, even despite a two-stroke penalty for a scoring player who took faulty ruling advice from a non-official.

Even still, head coach Laura Cilek had no complaints from her team's first stab at playing two rounds on the same day, feeling they played steady and showed confidence.

"It was a great start. Anytime you play at home there can be expectations," she said. "You've played the course a lot, so you know where everything is, good or bad. Our goal was to just come out steady, really put the foot on the gas on the birdie holes, then the holes that are a little more challenging, fairways and middles of greens. They did a great job of that.

"We had a little bit of a rough patch around 13 or 14, then they came back strong and made a bunch of birdies. The second round, it was our first 36-hole day of the year, so I think we had a few tired swings with about nine holes to go, but then kind of woke up and really finished strong."

Torres definitely did. After posting a 2-under 70 in the first round, she had picked up a bit of confidence and wanted to carry it through. The round started rough with two bogies to start, then she posted a trio of birdies before the front nine was finished.

She started her day on 17, so she finished on the first hole. As she closed out the second round, she felt her final two holes were an opportunity, not a burden. Taking advantage made it all the better.

"I was being really patient, because I knew those two pins weren't easy but possible birdie holes. I was going for it," she said. "I was really trying to get a birdie.

"I was really trying to feel comfortable under par. Sometimes I get under and then I just get scared, or I freak out, so I don't finish that well. I was trying to be consistent for 36 holes. I really tried to do it in Wisconsin in the second round, feel comfortable under par, trying to get further under par. I think I did well with that today."

She said it helped one of her playing partners, Ryan Flynn of Grand Canyon, shot 7-under the first round, so she was trying to feed off that vibe, and Flynn finished with that score on the day and sits two strokes in front of Torres in second.

Nevada's Victoria Gailey helped the Wolf Pack set the pace, finishing the first day at 11-under par, shooting 7-under in the first round.

The score leaves the Rams chasing them, but that's OK for the team. They can't control what another team shoots, but they can take control of their own day. Monday, they did so, with their 41 combined birdies best in the field.

"Our team did awesome. They pulled through, and when we needed it most, they did it," Lacey Uchida said. "I'm so proud of them.

"It's a little hard not to think about it, because a lot is on the line, but that's not very helpful. You should just focus on yourself, because in the end if you shoot the score, you're going to be on top anyway. It's a team effort, because when you're stressed out, I turn back and I see Andrea Bergsdottir, or I turn in front and see Gabby Minier. It's kinda nice, and they take the nerves off. You see them wave, and I'm like OK. It makes you feel a lot better."

All five Rams had at least one scoring round in the total. Bergsdottir shot 1-under each round, sitting in a tie for 11^th, with Panchalika Arphamongkol finishing at even for the day. Uchida came back from 2-over the first round to shoot 1-under the second. Gabby Minier finished at 5-over.

What Uchida said she learned from the day is patience, which is what Torres felt gave her the confidence to finish so strong.

"I think staying with your game plan is very important, especially here," she said. "There are so many birdie opportunities. You have to be patient, and that's' what I learned today. Thirty-six holes is a lot, 18 holes is a lot, 72 strokes are a lot. You need to be very patient throughout the day, and if you're patient enough, then eventually they'll drop.

"My lag putting was pretty good today. I was reading the putts well, so I kept thinking, eventually one was going to drop, and if it didn't, it was still par. If my lag putting is good, if I stay confident, I have to stay patient."

Tuesday's third and final round tees off at 9 a.m.

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