PRIMM, NEV. -- Drake senior
Olivia Lansing (Dellwood, Minn.) was tied for fifth at the opening round of the inaugural GolfWeek Conference Challenge Sunday, shooting a one-over-par 73.
Lansing, battling tendinitis in her left wrist, had birdies on the second, third and 17th holes.
Drake was tied for 12th with Coastal Carolina with a 311 score in the tournament which features 15 of the top women's golf teams in the nation from 15 different conferences.
The Bulldogs were only four strokes out of eighth place.
"We're right in there," said Drake coach
Scott Bohlender. "We got off to a good start with our first round score (311) lower than our average (314) from last year. But we gave up a lot of shots down the stretch.
"All five of our players bogeyed the last hole and we gave up seven to eight strokes in the last couple of holes."
Oklahoma State owned the first-round lead at 295 followed by Chattanooga at 296.
Drake junior
Michelle Mathwick (Greenfield, Wis.) was tied for 34th at 77, while senior
Elena Vukmir (Wauwatosa, Wis.) was tied for 57th at 80. Senior
Kelly Godwin (Centerville, Minn.) and junior
Kaitlyn Mauk (West Des Moines, Iowa) were tied for 66th at 81.
Ten of the top 50 women's college players are participating in the tournament.
"This is the best college tournament Olivia (Lansing) has played in," said Bohlender. "She has finished in the top 10 in every tournament so far. Finishing in the top 10 here is asking a lot of Olivia because she has been battling tendinitis since July and hasn't been able to practice much."
WOMEN'S GOLF
GOLFWEEK CONFERENCE CHALLENGE
At Primm, Nev.
Team Scoring1. Oklahoma State 295; 2. Chattanooga 296; 3. tie between Ohio State and Pepperdine 298; 5. California 300; 6. East Tennessee State 302; 7. UNLV 304; 8. tie between Ball State and UC Irvine 307; 10. tie between Harvard and Oral Roberts 310 12. tie between Drake and Coastal Carolina 311; 14. Jacksonville State 317; 15. Georgia State 318; 16. Southern Methodist 321; 17. Fresno State 324; 18. Portland State 328.
Drake Leaders - T5.
Olivia Lansing, 73; T34.
Michelle Mathwick, 77; T57;
Elena Vukmir, 80; T66.
Kelly Godwin and
Kaitlyn Mauk, 81.
