Carolina Golfers Tied For 17th At NCAA Championships

Wednesday, May 18

College Station, Texas

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North Carolina

NCAA Championships

Two Carolina Golfers Advance At U.S. Women's Amateur

May 18, 2011 | Women's Golf

By: UNC Athletic Communications

May 18, 2011

BRYAN, TEXAS -

Complete NCAA Notes

The North Carolina women's golf team is tied for 17th place after carding a 17-over-par 305 in the first round of the NCAA Championships played at The Traditions Club here. The Tar Heels were led by freshman Casey Grice, a native of nearby College Station, who fired a 75 on Wednesday.

"We didn't have the best of rounds today," says Tar Heel head coach Jan Mann. "We did struggle with ball striking a bit, but I am very confident we will play better tomorrow. There's a whole lot of golf left and I feel certain we will improve each day. We're looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow."

Grice's 3-over-par 75 put her in a tie for 43rd place. She carded pars on the first eight holes and posted four bogies and one birdie over the final 11 holes. Two more freshmen, Katherine Perry and Jackie Chang, are one stroke back at 4-over 76 in a tie for 57th place. Perry, from Cary, N.C., posted four bogies while Chang, from Paradise Valley, Ariz., had six bogies and two birdies. Catherine O'Donnell, a junior from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., carded a 6-over 78 and is tied for 79th while Allie White,, a junior from Lancaster, Ohio, struggled with an 84 and is tied for 121st.

UCLA grabbed the lead over the 24-team field by firing a 1-over-par 289 on Wednesday. The Bruins, ranked #2, have a slim two-stroke lead over Virginia which fired a 3-over 291 in the first round. Purdue, the defending NCAA Champion, and LSU are another stroke back in a tie for third place at 4-over 292. Florida is fifth at 294 while host Texas A&M is sixth at 295, Arizona State is seventh at 296, Vanderbilt is eighth at 297, Wake Forest is ninth at 298 and Tennessee is 10th at 299.

Brittany Altomare of Virginia fired a 3-under-par 69 in the first round to grab the individual lead. Michigan State's Caroline Powers, Wake Forest's Michelle Shin and UCLA's Glory Yang are one stroke back in second place at 2-under 70. Five players are deadlocked another stroke back at 1-under 71 - South Carolina's Katie Burnett, Purdue's Numa Gulyanamitta, UCLA's Tiffany Lua, Virginia's Calle Nielson and Georgia's Marta Silva Zamora.

The 72-hole event continues through Saturday at The Traditions Club, which features a par 72, 6,260-yard layout. The Traditions Club was designed by Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus II, a UNC graduate. The Tar Heels begin teeing off at 8:55 CDT for Thursday's second round. Live scoring is available on TarHeelBlue.com and Golfstat.com.