HIGHLANDS RANCH - Colorado’s women’s golf team climbed two spots on Saturday at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate, moving into eighth place after a second round that gave plenty of teams trouble at the University of Denver Golf Club.
The Buffaloes sit at 10-over-par through 36 holes on the par-72, 6,620-yard course. Colorado posted a 6-over round on Saturday, which was actually two shots higher than its opening effort, but the field struggled so much that the Buffs still gained ground. They head into Sunday’s final round five strokes shy of the top five.
UNLV owns the tournament lead at 8-under after a second-round 283, the only team to break par on Saturday. Tulane, which had been in front after Friday, dropped into second place and trails the Rebels by one stroke.
Colorado had chances to keep moving upward during the round, and the finish was its best stretch. The four scores that counted for the team came in at 4-under over the last five holes, but early bogeys and doubles kept the round from turning into something better.
“It was a disappointing day today,” Colorado Head Coach Madeleine Sheils said. “We just didn't play with any sharpness from inside 100 yards and that cost us. This team always competes to the very end and we expect to give it our all over the final 18 holes.”
Senior Maya McVey is leading the Buffaloes individually, tied for 18th at even par. She backed up her opening 72 with another 72 on Saturday, and it took some recovery work to get there.
McVey was 1-under through nine before a rough four-hole stretch from the first through fourth left her at 3-over for that span. She steadied herself late, finishing with birdies at the seventh and ninth for her fifth straight even-par round.
Sophomore Brenna Higgins is tied for 20th after a second-round 73 put her at 1-over overall. Junior Ellen O'Shaughnessy sits tied for 35th at 4-over following a 75. Senior Carolyn Fuller is tied for 47th at 7-over after shooting 74, while sophomore Ananthi Vivek is tied for 66th at 10-over.
Freshman Isabella Piazza and sophomore Teemapat Pateetin are tied for 77th at 13-over. Pateetin had the better of Colorado’s two individual scores with a 7-under.
Tulane’s Sophia Macias, who shared the first-round lead, moved alone into first place after a 71 left her at 6-under for the tournament. She takes a one-shot lead into Sunday.
Colorado will finish the event in an all-Front Range pairing with Northern Colorado and Denver. Those groups are scheduled to start between the seventh and 10th holes in an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Pateetin and Piazza will be grouped together with individuals from UTSA and Denver, starting at the 17th.
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