CCU

Women's Golf Stands In First Place At NCAA East Regional

Eight teams from the NCAA East Regional will advance to the NCAA Championships.

           

Jessica Alexander is tied for first place after one round of play.

Jessica Alexander is tied for first place after one round of play.

May 5, 2011

2011 NCAA D1 Women's East Regional Live Scoring

Complete Round 1 Results

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Coastal Carolina women’s golf team sits in first place after one round of competition Thursday afternoon at the NCAA East Regional from the LPGA International Golf Course. 

The 49th-ranked Chanticleers fired a 286 on Thursday to post their second-lowest single round score of the spring season.  Coastal sits two-under par and leads third-ranked Alabama by one stroke, as the Crimson Tide finished in second place with an overall score of 287.  No. 9 California (290), No. 21 North Carolina (293), No. 10 Arizona State (295) and No. 4 and defending NCAA Champion Purdue (295) round of the top 5 teams. 

Chanticleer sophomore and Big South Player of the Year Jessica Alexander finished round one tied for first place after shooting a 69 on the par-72, 6,271 yard course to finish three strokes under par.  Alexander made par on the first three holes of the back nine before turning in a birdie on hole 13.  She made par on the following two holes before posting birdies on two of the three final holes.  The Riverview, Fla., started the front nine with a birdie on hole one and shot par on the remaining eight holes. 

Junior Kaitlin Higginbotham stands in sixth place after she fired a 71 in round one to finish one-under par.  Higginbotham started the back nine with back-to-back bogies, but answered nicely by making par on the next four holes, registering a birdie on hole 16 and rounding out the back nine by shooting par on 17 and 18.  On the front nine, she made par on holes 1, 2 and 9 before picking up her second birdie of the afternoon on hole four.  After making par on holes 5 and 6, Higginbotham finished strong and birdied holes 8 and 9. 

Big South Freshman of the Year Courtney Boe ended the afternoon tied for 19th following her score of 73.  Boe made par on the first five holes of the back nine before posting birdies on holes 15 and 16.  Boe also birdied holes 3 and 6 on the front nine and shot even par on six of the other seven holes. 

Senior Alicia Grier also tied for 19th place by carding an overall score of 73, which included two birdies on both the back and front nine.  In fact, Grier put together a stretch where she birdied four out of fives holes.  The Hagerstown, Md., native birdied holes 16 and 17 of the back nine before accomplishing the feat on holes 1 and 2 of the front nine.  Grier featured a bogey on hole 5, but finished her round by making par on the final four holes of the front nine. 

Sophomore Brittany Henderson is tied for 69th overall following her score of 77.  Henderson opened the back nine with a birdie on hole 9 and made par on holes 15, 16 and 17.  Henderson featured bogies on back-to-back holes on 18 and 1, but rebounded by shooting par on the next seven holes of the front nine before capping her afternoon with a birdie on hole 9. 

“We are thrilled to have had such a good start today against some of the top competition in the country,” Coastal Carolina head coach Katie Quinney said.  “Obviously, we couldn’t qualify for nationals today, but we are extremely excited about what type of position we are in.  I am so proud of the way our team handled themselves and the way we were able to stay focused and under control.  I hope we can keep the same attitude and approach over the next 36 holes and we will see what happens next.”

Coastal Carolina returns to action Friday morning when the NCAA East Regional resumes at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start.

NCAA D1 Women's East Regional
LPGA International (Legends Course)
Daytona Beach, FL
NCAA Division I Women's East Regional
Dates: May 05 - May 07

ROUND 1 TEAM SCORES
  1 Coastal Carolina              286 -2
  2 Alabama                       287 -1
  3 California                    290 +2
  4 North Carolina                293 +5
 T5 Arizona State                 295 +7
 T5 Purdue                        295 +7
 T7 Michigan State                297 +9
 T7 Florida State                 297 +9
  9 Florida                       298 +10
 10 Louisville                    301 +13
T11 Auburn                        302 +14
T11 Augusta State                 302 +14
T11 Vanderbilt                    302 +14
T11 TCU                           302 +14
 15 Mississippi                   303 +15
T16 UNC Wilmington                304 +16
T16 Stetson                       304 +16
T18 Colorado                      306 +18
T18 Kentucky                      306 +18
 20 Yale                          310 +22
 21 Florida International         311 +23
 22 Fairleigh Dickinson           312 +24
 23 Texas Tech                    316 +28
 24 Alabama State Univ.           334 +46


ROUND 1 INDVIDUAL LEADERS
T1 Jessica Alexander Coastal Carolina      69 -3
T1 Jessica Negron Florida State            69 -3

T3 Catherine O'Donnell North Carolina      70 -2
T3 Daniela Holmqvist California            70 -2
T3 Sofia Hagsund UNC Wilmington            70 -2

T6 Kaitlin Higginbotham Coastal Carolina   71 -1
T6 Stefanie Kenoyer * Furman               71 -1
T6 Giulia Molinaro Arizona State           71 -1
T6 Caroline Powers Michigan State          71 -1
T6 Stephanie Meadow Alabama                71 -1

COASTAL CAROLINA SCORES
 T1 Jessica Alexander             69
 T6 Kaitlin Higginbotham          71
T19 Courtney Boe                  73
T19 Alicia Grier                  73
T69 Brittany Henderson            77