FINDLAY, Ohio - The Concordia University women's golf team is off to a solid start in the first of four rounds at the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships at Findlay Country Club hosted by the University of Findlay. The Golden Bears, ranked No. 30 in the nation, played round one alongside No. 2 Rollins College and unranked Ferris State. Senior Jacquelyn Hauser (Caledonia, Minn.) leads Concordia with a 76 (+4) and is tied for ninth of 72 on the individual leaderboard. ROUND 1 RESULTS
The Golden Bears are 14 strokes behind leader No. 7 Tarleton State, who shot a 301 today. Concordia shot a team score of 315 in round one, impressive because that's just another round for the squad that averaged a 320.7 this year in 10 events. It's the 10th best 18 hole team score for the Golden Bears this season, meaning if they continue to play solid golf, they have a strong chance to remain in the top six if not move higher with outstanding play.
The team standings are crowded after 18 holes, with Concordia right in the middle of the pack. Fifth through seventh place are separated by a stroke each, with No. 1 Nova Southeastern at +26 and Ferris State at +28. Second place through ninth place are separated by a total of 14 strokes after 18 holes.
Concordia began the day with a rough showing on the front nine, shooting +18 golf using their top four scores. But on the back nine, four birdies contributed to a much better performance with a +7 team score on the back. Everyone improved their score from the front to back as well, with the exception of Hauser, who shot +2 golf on both ends.
Hole 12 (below) certainly contributed to the strong back nine team effort by CU, as Hauser and sophomore Kaytie Spangler (Ely, Minn.) each posted birdies while the other three golfers all shot pars.
The biggest improvements came from junior Anne Martin (Ramsey, Minn.) and sophomore Molly Noser (Rochester, Minn.). Martin shot a +5 on the front nine before seven pars, a bogey and a birdie on the back put her even for a 77 (+5) round of 18. Noser was +8 on the front and appeared headed the way on the back with three bogeys in five holes from 10 to 14. But a birdie on 15 followed by three consecutive pars gave her a +2 back nine performance for an 82 (+10) round. The strong final four holes allowed her score to place on the team card.
Martin is tied for 15th while Noser is tied for 47th, a stroke ahead of senior Carley Paulseth (Moose Lake, Minn.) who is tied for 56th.
Hauser was consistent throughout. On the front, she boasted seven pars and two bogeys. She started her back nine with a pair of pars and a birdie and was at one point tied for third on the leaderboard at +1 through 12. She would bogey three of the last six holes on her way to a solid round of 76 (+4).
Spangler played solid golf as well, producing her season average of 80.0 with an 80 on the day (+8). Spangler is tied for 31st in the field.
The Golden Bear performance compared to their league rivals looks even better. Concordia leads region champion No. 14 Upper Iowa by six strokes and No. 50 Augustana by 23.
Concordia Hole-by-Hole in Round 1 (click to enlarge)
