University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Rutgers Invitational
Upstate Stands 14th At Rutgers Invitational
10/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Oct. 9, 2009
Piscataway, N.J. - Cheryl Lo turned in back-to-back 40's on each nine to shoot 80 in the first round of the Rutgers Invitational to lead the USC Upstate cause Friday afternoon at the Rutgers University Golf Course.
Lo, a sophomore from Malaysia, was the low Spartan on the day and stands tied for 21st heading into Saturday's final round. On shot back and tied for 27th is Jennifer Judge who opened the tournament with an 81.
"Cheryl and Jennifer's rounds put them in the top 30 in the field, which is good for them and our team," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "However, as a team, we have to have five good scores in order to improve our position on the leaderboard."
Upstate finished the day with a 340 and stands 14th in the 18-team field. While Lo and Judge were solid throughout the day, Upstate, as a team, failed to capitalize on opportunities for birdies. Natalie Buch opened with an 89, while Marissa Clontz and Summer Wall each carded 90 on the day.
"We had too many double bogeys and not enough birdies when we had opportunities to get some strokes back," said Lawton. "We played too tight, which is a trait of young and inexperienced tournament players. We had a great practice session after the round. The players were able to enjoy it and work on some things.
"I think it is tough on them emotionally. They want to play well and it is not for a lack of effort. It's just a growing period to be better. We have had great conversations on how we can do that and what we need to work on to achieve our goals."
Upstate will begin the final round six strokes out of 13th place and 10 shots back of a top 10 finish. St. John's opened the tournament with a 308 to take the lead by four strokes over Boston College (312). Rutgers was third at 316 and was followed by Lehigh (320), Hartford (321), Siena (325), Long Island-Brooklyn (326), Fairleigh Dickinson (328), Sacred Heart (328) and Albany (330) in the top 10.
Hampton was 11th after shooting 331 on the day and was followed by Hofstra (333), Boston U. (334), Upstate (340), Kutztown (345), Wagner (346), Monmouth (352) and Mount St. Mary's (357).
