Huskies' Confidence Not Shaken After Day One At NCAA's

Wednesday, May 18

Texas A&M Traditions Course -- College Station, Texas

All Day

University of Washington

NCAA Championships

Alvarez Ready For 66th Women's U.S. Open

May 18, 2011 | Women's Golf

By: Washington Athletics

May 18, 2011

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BRYAN, Texas -- Washington senior Anya Alvarez shot a 2-over 74 to lead the Huskies in the first round of the NCAA Women's Golf Championship at the Traditions Golf Club in Bryan, Texas on Wednesday. Alvarez's effort put her in a tie for 31st after day one and was one of the bright spots for the Huskies in an otherwise frustrating round.

The Huskies find themselves 22nd out of 24 teams after firing a 24-over 312 at the home course of Texas A&M.

UCLA, the nation's second-ranked team, leads the field at +1. They have a two-stroke lead over Virginia. Nine players shot under par in the first round, led by Virginia's Brittany Altmore at -3.

Despite the uphill battle the Huskies face, UW veteran coach Mary Lou Mulflur is hopeful of a turnaround and is pleased with the way her team is hitting the ball.

22	Washington	312	312
T31	Anya Alvarez (2)	74	74
T79	Kelli Bowers (5)	78	78
T104	Sadena Parks (1)	80	80
T104	Karinn Dickinson (4)	80	80
126	A Ram Choi (3)	87	87

"We have to be a lot tougher mentally," said Mulflur, who is coaching her ninth squad in the NCAA Championship. "Yesterday in the practice round, we hit the ball fantastic. So, it's not our ball-striking, it's not our physical tools...we just have to be a lot tougher mentally.

"If we can get that going, we'll be fine."

Traditions Golf Club proved to be a tough track for the Huskies to solve on Wednesday. The greens are narrow, the humidity was stifling and the wind played tricks on balls' flights throughout the round. Alvarez and freshman Kelli Bowers were the only Huskies to record rounds in the 70's.

Alvarez was the Huskies' poster-child for playing mentally tough golf all day. She managed to hit 15 greens on the day, but struggled to convert birdie putts. Despite the frustration, she did not let it deture her round.

"Today my mantra was that nothing bad can happen," said Alvarez, who only had one birdie during the opening round. "Essentially, I was thinking that if I don't hit it where I want, it's not the end of the world. It's not going to change my life if I make a bogey. I think when you start looking at it from that perspective it really makes it easier to let go because there is a lot less attachment to the outcome.

"That is really important, especially this week. We want to place well, so we really have to let go of any attachment we might have."

Bowers also was able to block out doubts and frustrations on Wednesday and was able to find success at times on the tricky course. She started her round with a bogey and double-bogey but was able to get her sea legs under her and refocus to shoot a 6-over 78. She dismissed nerves as the reason behind her slow start.

"It wasn't so much that I was nervous, I was a little more anxious than anything," explained Bowers. "I was trying to force things early and once I just let go, it kind of came back."

The Huskies will need more players to `let go' over the final 54 holes of the 72-hole tournament if they make the climb up the leaderboard that they know they can do. Junior Sadena Parks, who shot an 80, is confident that she can do just that, starting tomorrow.

"I will just learn from today," said Parks, who shot a course-record 66 in the second round of regionals at Washington National two weeks ago. "I can't force shots and I just need to play the course. This course is not as hard as some make it out to be... I'm shooting for even-par tomorrow."

Parks and her Husky teammates will have a chance to back up their unwavering confidence starting tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. Central Time. They will start the round from the No. 1 tee and be paired with Stanford and Florida for a second-consecutive day.

Team Leader Board

Course:Traditions Golf Club: NCAA Tees Par 72 - 6260 yards

current
position

team

scoring

rounds

total
score

to par

thru

today

UCLA

289