The DU Women’s Golf team competed in the NCAA West Regional at the Stanford University Golf Course. Going into the three-day, 54-hole tournament, the Pioneers were 11th seeded and ranked No. 32/33 nationally, making their 12th consecutive appearance at the NCAA regional.
DU won its first Western Athletic Conference title in its last tournament. The top seeded teams in the tournament included USC, Arizona, Vanderbilt, Purdue and Stanford, respectively. The Pioneers went 15-12 against the field of 24 teams in 2012-2013.
On the tournament’s opening day on Thursday, senior Kelly Drack shot an even-par 71 to lead the Denver women’s golf team to ninth place on the team leaderboard after the first of three rounds of the NCAA West Regional at Stanford Golf Course.
The Pioneers shot a 15-over 299 that day, and sat two strokes behind California for eighth. The top eight teams from each Regional advance to the NCAA Championship, and hopes ran high for ninth place Denver.
“I’m pleased with our team total today, but we know we have some work to do for the next two days,” said head coach Lindsay Hulwick. “Kelly was very solid and consistent for us today, and even-par on this course is very impressive. Tonje also played very well.” Junior Tonje Daffinrud recorded a one-over 72, and is in 15th after Thursday’s action.
Freshman Elyse Smidinger shot a two-under, 34 in her first nine holes, but shot a seven-over on the back to finish the first round at five-over. Smidinger, who carded three birdies in her round, sat in 63rd after the first day.
As a team, the Pioneers were back nine after the first nine holes.
“This course is playing long and the holes are challenging,” said Hulwick. “Tomorrow is a big day for us, and I know that everyone is ready and eager for the challenge. All five golfers started very well today, and we were one-under through six. It’s great to have five players make some birdies and pars, and that stretch will give us some confidence heading into tomorrow.”
On Friday, redshirt-senior Melissa Martin shot a four-over 75, and Drack remained in the top half of the field with an eight-over 79, as the Denver women’s golf team fell to 18th after the NCAA Regional Second Round at Stanford.
“Melissa played really well on a tough course for us today,” said Hulwick. “I’m looking forward to see how the team bounces back tomorrow after a difficult day today.”
Sophomore Rachael Watton carded a six-over 77 in the second round, a three-stroke improvement from Thursday. Daffinrud and freshman Smidinger shot a 10-over 81 on Friday.
On the tournament’s final day on Saturday, Watton carded a two-under 69 to lead the Denver women’s golf team to a five-over 289 on Saturday in the final round of the NCAA West Regional.
“I’m happy for Rachael for finishing the spring with a two-under,” said Hulwick. “The entire team broke 75 today, and I was really happy to see how we responded. The girls played with a lot of heart and pride for the University of Denver. We finished with the fourth-best team score today, which is impressive on this tough course and with this tough field. We ended the season on a great note today.”
Watton finished her sophomore campaign with a clean scorecard, bogeying the first hole before 15 pars, an eagle on the par-four 13th and a birdie on the par-three 14th. She picked up 29 spots on the leaderboard on Saturday, finishing in 60th overall.
Drack and Daffinrud both recorded 73s (two-over) in the final round, finishing 39th and 60th, respectively.
The Pioneers team score on Saturday was a 10-stroke improvement on Thursday’s round, and a 23-stroke improvement on Friday’s round. DU finished the event in 17th with a total score of a 48-over 900. The No. 1 Southern California finished first with a three-round total of seven-over 859.
