Mississippi State
UCF Challenge
Lady Bulldogs Chisel Nine Strokes Off First-Round Tally
February 13, 2012 | Women's Golf
After opening the tournament with a 308 on Sunday, the Lady Bulldogs carded a 299 to climb within 10 strokes of No. 15 Texas with 18 holes remaining. This is only MSU's second sub-300 score since the 2010 Price's Give 'Em Five Invitational and UNCG Starmount Fall Classic when the team strung together four-consecutive sub-300 cards.
"We played much better today," MSU coach Ginger Brown-Lemm said. "I am so proud of our team, but we need to work on finishing. We cannot drop seven shots in the last three holes. We really had an opportunity to post an exceptional number today, but with the youth of our squad, building is vital. Putting ourselves in a position to shoot low team scores and finish well is a learned skill. We hope to continue to improve tomorrow in the final round."
No. 3 Auburn and No. 22 Baylor are currently tied atop the leaderboard with 7-under-par 569's.
Individually, two Lady Bulldogs posted their best rounds of the season, while another missed her best round by one stroke. Four of the five lady linksters carved strokes off of their first-round cards.
Sophomore Mary Langdon Gallagher stormed out of the gates birdying three of her first five holes. After a stumble on her third-to-last hole, she finished with a 2-over-par 74. With one round remaining, Gallagher aims for her second Top 25 finish of the season.
"I played well today," Gallagher said. "I hit the ball the best I have in a long time, and my putting was on, too. I just had one silly mistake, but other than that, I cannot complain. I'm pleased with the team's overall play, too. We are excited for tomorrow and the opportunity to improve as a team."
Sitting atop the Maroon and White leaderboard, Ally McDonald is just two strokes back of a Top 25 finish after notching a 3-over-par 75. The freshman's 149 is just ahead of Gallagher's 150.
Matching McDonald's 75 was Rica Tse and Perry Katherine Furr, who knocked three and five strokes off their first round scores, respectively.
Finishing just behind that duo was the Lady Bulldog's third freshman in the lineup, Elena Warren. Warren managed to cut four strokes off her first round total and turn in the best round of her young career.
Hayley Davis of Baylor is currently tops individually with a 5-under-par 139.
Final-round action begins at 8 CST Tuesday, and live stats will be available through HailState.com.
Don't forget to stay connected through the Lady Bulldogs' Facebook and Twitter pages at facebook.com/mstateWG and @mstateWG.
UCF Challenge
Second Round - February 13, 2011
T1. Auburn (285+284=569, -7); T1. Baylor (284+285=569, -7); 3. Tulane (287+289=576, E); 4. UCF (295+282=577, +1); 5. Augusta State (286+293=579, +3); 6. South Florida (292+291=583, +7); 7. South Carolina (290+299=589, +13); 8. Kentucky (297+297=594, +18); 9. Kennesaw State (300+295=595, +19); 10. Miami (301+296=597, +21); 11. Texas (292+306=598, +22); 12. UTSA (299+300=599, +23); 13. Memphis (300+304=604, +28); 14. Mississippi State (308+299=607, +31); 15. Kansas (306+302=308, +32) T16. Coastal Carolina (303+308=611, +35); T16. Minnesota (310+301=611, +35): 18. Georgia State (302+310=612, +36).
MSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
T43. Ally McDonald 74+75=149, +5
T52. Mary Langdon Gallagher 76+74=150, +6
T68. Rica Tse 77+75=153, +9
T76. Perry Katherine Furr 80+75=155, +11
T84. Elena Warren 80+76=156, +12
