University of Washington
NCAA Regionals
Dawgs Up To Third At NCAA Regionals
May 08, 2015 | Women's Golf
Live Scoring
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – No. 6 Washington had another strong performance on day two of the NCAA San Antonio Regional, shooting a round of 7-under 281. The Dawgs are in third place just five shots out of the lead, but also now 13 clear of seventh place and the first team out of qualifying position for the NCAA Finals.
“They really battled again,” said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. “We had the lead again for a minute, but just couldn't finish off the day. We'll have one more chance to take it and hold it, so hopefully tomorrow is the day.”
For the tournament the Huskies are 14-under with their round being tied for the best of Friday's second round. No. 14 Tennessee continues to lead and now sits at 19-under, four shots better than No. 21 Baylor who is one up on Washington.
The Dawgs are third, while No. 11 Texas A&M and No. 3 UCLA are tied for fourth just two back of the Huskies. The top-five teams appear to have separated from the rest of the field.
That leaves just one remaining team through to the NCAA Finals with No. 43 Texas currently occupying that spot at 5-under for the week. Behind the Longhorns, No. 37 Texas Tech is at 1-under and is the current first team out. Pac-12 squads No. 19 Arizona State (+2), No. 27 Oregon (+3) are also within striking distance of that final spot.
Still, the Huskies remain only focused on winning.
“Our discussion is just about winning,” said Mulflur. “We remember how it felt to lose by one shot to USC last year. I reminded the team of that this morning. Our goal is to go grab the tournament by the throat.”
The Dawgs again got balanced play throughout the lineup with the four scores kept being at even par or better. The day did include one player going low as sophomore Eimi Koga shot a bogey-free round of 5-under 67.
Koga is now within reach of the overall lead held by Hayley Davis of Baylor at 9-under. Bronte Law of UCLA and Dylan Kim of Baylor are tied for second at 8-under. Koga then sits in a five-way tie for fourth at 6-under for the week.
The Honolulu native was superb on Friday, making three birdies and an eagle without a bogey. She is now 8-under for the week not including her first round with a double bogey on the first hole.
“I am really proud of Eimi,” said Mulflur. “After that first hole yesterday, she has been so impressive.”
Also playing under par on Friday were the two Husky seniors, Cyd Okino and Jennifer Yang. Okino made four birdies and three bogeys on the day to get to 3-under for the week and tied for 12th. Yang also made four birdies and three bogeys and now is 1-over for the week and tied for 38th.
Charlotte Thomas was the final player to have her score kept, shooting a round of even-par 72. She is now 2-under and tied for 16th overall after making three birdies and three bogeys on Friday.
Ying Luo played her first 11 holes at 3-under, but double bogeyed 12 and made two more bogeys coming in to shoot 1-over 73. She is now tied for 22nd at 1-under for the week, showing the Dawgs depth as it was tied for the best score that any team threw out.
“Ying made a couple bogeys at the end, but that's our depth,” said Mulflur. “Somebody is going to have your back. I just love how supportive of each other they are.”
The Huskies will tee it up on Saturday, playing with Tennessee and Baylor in the final group, beginning at 9:09 a.m. local time or 7:09 a.m., PT. Washington will have a chance to win the first Regional title in program history, while securing the 12th trip to the NCAA Finals as a team.
Players Mentioned
