Post-Round Quotes - Day 2
May 22, 2002
Morning Quotes:
Janice Olivencia
Texas
On her round: "Everything was just clicking today. My momentum was just awesome today. It was just like yesterday. I just came here today thinking, 'just give it your best and play with what you have.'"
On the team's turnaround: "We knew we had to have a good comeback today. We know how to do this. We were just going to go out and do our best today and play witb what we have, just play how we normally do. This is nationals; this is it, what we've practiced for, what we've worked so hard for. We know how to have a good comeback. We need to learn how to start good so that we're not trying to come back all the time."
On the reason for Texas' slow first round: "It's nationals, so of course there's going to be a little bit of nerves in everyone. We have an advantage, as other teams do, because last year we played this course. We should not have any pressure, because Texas is the team to beat. It's a strong team, and nobody should take us for granted. We knew we needed to have a good comeback - a great comeback! Today was the day that we needed yesterday. I'm glad that we had this day today and not tomorrow or the next, because it would be too late to try to get this national championship."
Susan Watkins
Texas head coach
On the round: "They came out of the gates strong. Today it was a critical day for us to start strong and stay steady throughout the day, and they did just that."
On what she told the team: "I told them they did not deserve to have a day like yesterday. They've been a very strong team all year, and with all of their hard work, they deserved to come here and have a round yesterday like they had today. One thing I wanted was, on the first day, to get a good day under our belt. It was just one of those days. I wanted the team to know that I was disappointed and that they should be disappointed too."
Dan Brooks
Duke Head Coach
On Candy Hannemann: "I wasn't there for her left shot, so I didn't see her swing on (our) 10. She like every other player, has got things that creep in and if your mindset gets off a little, if a tee sets you up where you don't feel comfortable on the ball, little things can sneak in on you. I don't think that it was any big deal, (because) we all hit big fat shots, but the most significant thing about Candy is the fact that she birdied two of the next three holes after those disaster holes. That's what Candy's all about.
On how Virada Nirapathpongporn will handle a lead: "She has the ability to stay focused on a shot at a time. Whenever we asked for comments from the team, her comments almost always come back to a one shot at a time theme, just with different ways of saying it. Whether she's five behind or five ahead, she's really good at handling those situations."
On what he focuses on when he's on the course: "My philosophy is to basically pay attention to how they are on the golf course. Are they poised? Are their routines consistent? Are they keeping their chins up and are they emotionally recovering from bad holes? Things like that. When the boards are in my face, I tend to tune into it a lot more and I've got to try not to do that, because I've got to be resourceful for them and have the right appearance for them, so I don't want to be hung up on how we're doing. "I might or might not pay attention to the team stuff, and that's insignificant anyway. We don't let it affect the choices we make on the golf course. If you have a match play situation, you might pay attention to that stuff, but when it comes to stroke play and team competition, if you can somehow divest yourself from any interest in anything else that's going on other than one shot at a time, you will be in great shape. The team is never struggling to pay attention to that stuff."
On the 10th hole: "Ten was interesting. We played 10 even-par. That was a great start to the day. The wind was dead into our face, and you can't hit driver there comfortably, because that waste area is pretty short - only about 200 yards out on the left-hand side. You've got to use a fairway wood, because a well-hit driver - if hit left - will go right into the waste area. So we're hitting these fairway woods and they're all going straight into the air because of the strong wind, and we played even on the hole anyway."
On the round after 10: "We went a little bit flat. Interestingly, I had a good feeling from the team today. It felt much more relaxed. It felt like they were going to be able to relax and play the way they can play, but we just kept trickling up. All of a sudden, we're over par quite a bit more than I felt like we ought to be. I thought, 'well, ok, the scores aren't coming but at least they feel good.' Then we get on the back side and more disaster. Then, at the end of the back side, we start getting some birdies. All in all, we came out O.K., but it was a really nerve-wracking day. We've showed some toughness. The scores weren't coming, but we stayed tough anyway. Sometimes the reward doesn't come until the last few holes, then you find out the day was alright. Our day was not great, but it was alright."
On Virada Nirapathpongporn: "In the practice round, I would have sworn that she was overcooking everything again. We've done some serious mechanical work on her swing, and we've gotten it to where it's second nature if she's willing to trust it. She asked me about four or five things in the practice round, about her swing, that we never talk about. She was feeling just a little bit uncomfortable over the ball, and that all comes from anxiety. Then sure enough, she gets in the tournament and it's as if we never had any problems at all. She's probably always going to have a little anxiety, and a tendency to overthink things. She's a meticulous person who pays attention to all details, and she'll always be that person. All she can do is keep it under control."
Angela Jermon
Georgia
On her team's success: "I think there's always pressure when you're playing in a team atmosphere like this. Our team did good overall, having just two 76s. I think we all have some positives to take for tomorrow. This is exciting!"
On her round: "I was hitting it pretty good until the end. My putting was really good. I didn't do anything fantastic, but when I had my birdie putt, I made it."
On the rain: "We knew it was going to be rainy here and we were prepared for it. Actually, at our last practice it was raining, and we still practiced so that we would be ready."
On what Georgia must do to win: "We just need to keep doing what we're doing right now - staying positive, staying focused. We've still got two more days, so it's as if we just played the first round of a tournament. There's plenty more holes out there, so we just need to keep making smart decisions. I think we can be in good shape."
Mary Lou Mulflur
Washington head coach
On the team's struggles down the stretch: "We dropped seven places in probably an hour on the back side. Look at what eight or ten shots would have done for us. I'm sure every team in our position is saying the same thing. We had it going at one point, we just really let it get away from us. It's just frustrating, and I know they're frustrated, too."
On Paige Mackenzie: "She's very, very talented. She was four under through 12, so she had it going. She's very capable. She's certainly one of the best players to come out of this state in a long time. As a freshman, for her to play as well as she did - you're excited for her, but it didn't surprise me at all."
On the team's goals: "Our team goal was to win, but when you put yourself 18 shots out of the lead and now only have two days to go ... we'll have to re-evaluate where we're at when we know exactly how we stand at the end of the day. We certainly felt like we could win, especially on our own golf course. We'll have to see how things shake out. I think we're better than a top-10 team."
Ria Quiazon
California
On her play today: "I finished really badly. I finished with three birdies on the last four holes coming into the turn. On the backside, I played pretty solidly and hit the greens, but I just three putted the last two ... Everything was a lot better today, I just couldn't put a score up."
Mollie Fankhauser
Ohio State
On her second round: "It was better, but I could realistically say that there were about six putts that honestly, didn't drop for me. It was very frustrating, because I had a lot of chances to go low today and it just didn't happen."
On her double bogey yesterday on 16 and her par today: "It's just a fresh start for me everyday. I try to play that hole over and over in my head - just thinking of hitting the green everytime. Luckily, I stayed up and just got up and down."
Nuria Clau
Wake Forest
On her final nine holes today: "I hit in the water on 15 and 17, so that's it. I was playing pretty well the whole round until the end.
On starting on hole number one, instead of 10: "I like the front nine better, so I'd rather start on the back first. These last holes with the water put a lot of pressure on especially at the end, because if you know that you still have nine holes to come back. Even if you have a little mistake, you still have time to recover."
Therese Hession
Ohio State head coach
On the difference between her team's performance: "We actually got off to a pretty similar start. Yesterday, we lost some shots mid-round and today we kept playing really solid, although we lost a few coming in here. Overall, they played some tough holes really well and I'm pleased that it will help move us up a little bit. We've got to have good rounds, because there are a lot of good teams out here and you can't just keep having average rounds, otherwise we'll fall too far behind.
On where they expected to be at the half way point: "We felt like we were capable of winning this championships, but we also knew there was about seven or eight other teams that were capable of doing it. We knew we had to play a really good tournament, and so far, we are playing pretty well. I would still like to see us shoot a round below par as well to separate yourself. We're in a good position and I don't think we're surprised to be here but we know we have our hands full yet still too."
Kari Damron
Purdue
On her second nine holes today: "I missed a few putts. The putter really wasn't working like it was on the front. I two-putted the first two holes on the back side for bogey and then had one birdie coming in on 18."
On what adjustments she made: "I worked on my swing a little bit yesterday and got a little more confidence coming into today, so that really helped. I had just a little bit of confidence, slowing it down and getting a good temp."
On starting on hole number one instead of 10: "It doesn't matter, if you're going to make birdies, you're going to make them no matter where you start."
Amanda Dick
Florida
On the difference between today and yesterday: "I didn't really play all that bad yesterday until the end. I finished bogey, bogey, double, double, double. Today, I just hit the ball more solid and hit a lot of greens and didn't really get in any trouble. I really haven't been hitting the ball that well, and today, I just went out and said, 'play golf. Don't worry about your swing, just go play golf.'
Lorena Ochoa
Arizona
On her second round: "I played a lot more consistent today. I was aroung the hole every single time and didn't make any bogeys, just three birdies ... I want to play more aggressive tomorrow. I'm happy - for the second day, it's good."
On her team's mood after yesterday: "We expected to play well. We were just trying to play one day at a time, because there are a lot of good players out there and a lot of good teams.
"Today was a tough day for us. We didn't play as good as a team, but we hung in there and it's good to have that lead. Hopefully, today was our bad day, and if today was our bad day, then we have two good days coming."
Greg Allen
Arizona head coach
On his team's great start yesterday: "In my short time as a coach, the experience I've had with teams that have gone out and played really well in the first round, especially late in the afternoon and had to turnaround and get back out there the next morning, it's always tough to come back and put together another really good round. So I'm proud of the girls and the way they hung in there, because it was getting ugly for awhile on holes 9, 10 and 11. We didn't play those holes really well and then came back and made a few birdies coming in. I'm pleased with our effort, because as you said, it's hard to comeback after a really good opening round.
"We still have 36 holes left - a lot of golf. We're just happy to be right in the hunt."
Leigh Anne Hardin
Duke
On the second day: "We just were relaxed to start, I think everybody was a little uneasy yesterday. We played well, (Virada Nirapathpongporn) played awesome... I played better, I just had one bad hole yesterday."
On playing in the morning: "I liked it better actually, because the greens were a lot smoother, I thought. Yesterday afternoon they were a little bumpy, due to all the play that had been on them. So, as far as putting went today, I putted a lot better. I just like playing in the morning, because it feels late anyway. We teed off at four our time yesterday. I like playing earlier."
On the team's chances after two rounds: "I think we always have a chance. Maybe I'm just optimistic, but I don't think that we're in bad position at all. We're probably a couple more shots off the lead that than we'd like to be, I mean we always want to be leading, but I think we're right where we need to be and we'll just try to throw two good rounds together in the next two days and see what happens."
Charlotte Mayorkas
UCLA
On the course on the second day: "I think it was a little longer. We played on the back nine first, and the wind picked up a little at the beginning. It wasn't too bad."
On the team's chances: "I think we have a really good chance. We forgot about yesterday's round and just came out here and had fun, really focused on our round, and didn't really worry about yesterday's round. We're not going to let it worry us. We've got two more rounds to go."
Stacy Prammanasudh
Tulsa
On her position after two days: "I could be in a little better position, but I had two bad holes, one yesterday and one today. You can't make big numbers and win nationals. If I put two more real good rounds together, then there's still a chance."
On the effect of playing in the morning: "I don't think it (mattered) a whole lot. Yesterday afternoon, our first couple holes, it was pretty windy but then it died down. So you can't say it was afternoon wind. This morning was cool starting off and then it was a little breezy but I don't think it made a whole lot of difference."
On adjusting to the course: "I just wasn't striking the ball well yesterday or early on today. I just hit a real bad shot on 15 and that's what cost me. Otherwise I hit the ball fine all day."
On winning the tournament: "Everybody's goal is to win (the NCAA's). I think it would cap off my college career, but at the same time, if I don't win, my career's not over."
On the team's standing: "Well after yesterday we were only four shots out of third or fourth or something like that, so it was really tight. It looks like we're playing better today, so if we post another couple solid rounds then we'll definitely be up there. Arizona had a really great round, but it's tough to do that four days in a row."
Candy Hannemann
Duke
On her quadruple bogey on hole number one: "I didn't get pissed off or anything like that, that just makes things worse."
Virada Nirapathpongporn
Duke
On her calm on the golf course: "It's something that (with) how much work I've done, I just have it. Whatever I have, (I) use it."
On bogeying the 10th hole: "(Hole) 10 is a tough hole anyways. To go out in the morning, in the cold makes it a little longer."
"It's definitely a lot of different strategy to play 10 in the morning in the cold, than a wide open drive like (number one in the afternoon.)"
On whether the course fits her: "Yeah, its pretty wide open. The greens can be tricky."
On Candy Hanneman: "She's always our leader. She's always there to give advice and we always go to her."
Danielle Downey
Auburn
On the second day compared to the first: "It was pretty much the same. There were some tougher places today, but I missed probably eight birdie putts yesterday and today about half of them fell. So I think that's the difference in my score. Ball striking was about the same, but as far as the course and the wind and whatever, it didn't play much differently."
On playing in the morning: "I liked it because yesterday I hit the ball real well and I putted well, I just didn't make it. We teed off later, so it meant that we got to the golf course pretty much 12 hours after we got done. I pretty much picked up from where I started and I think I had a little charge going or I had a little energy from yesterday. It just fed into today's round and I'm happy with the way I played."
On starting on the back nine: "Yesterday I played one shot under par on the back nine, and I shot one over today. But for some reason when I start making the turn, no matter what nine I play, I feel like: 'Alright, let's get started.' I eagled (hole number ) one, and I shot four under on the front, so I think I get better as the (tournament) goes on, it doesn't really matter what nine.
On her eagle on hole number one: "I hit a drive that was 260 (yards) out and just hit a three wood to thirty yards. I just nipped it right and it spun, bounced once, danced around the hole and went in. It was great."
On the team's effort: "I know we haven't gotten off to the start we wanted to, but we're going to try our best to get back into the swing the next two rounds. We'll just keep fighting to the last hole, to the last shot, to the last putt I guess."
Lindsey Wright
Pepperdine
On how playing in the morning went: "It went pretty well, actually. It was nice to finish my round yesterday and then have to finish my second round within 18 hours of finishing my last one. It was good. This morning, I didn't think it would be as windy as it was, but it wasn't too bad. I played well."
On birdie-ing holes 14 through 16 consecutively: "Actually I missed about a five foot putt on 13, and then I was just focused. I got my distances right into the green and just went for it. I birdied 14, I had about a 12 foot putt, which was a nice putt, it just went in actually. So it gave me the confidence. On 15, I hit it to about two feet, which was a great shot in, and made the putt for birdie. Then I made a nice birdie putt on the 16th hole."
On her double bogey on hole number six: "I hit a shot, just didn't trust my swing, and it went into the bunker... I just missed my bogey putt, which was unfortunate, because I was playing really well up to that point."
Afternoon Quotes:
Marcia Wallis
Stanford
On the course on the second day: "We had a little a wet spell on the back nine and it was a little windy in the beginning, but it was good. The course is an amazing course, I love it.
On the key to birdie-ing holes 18 and one: "Finally making some putts (was key). I missed a lot on the back nine."
On the teams effort on the second day: "The team played amazing. We had a 72, a 70, my 73, and then an 80, which was fine because the people that shot high today still can go solo and have so much potential."
Caroline O'Connor
Stanford Head Coach
On the team's effort: "We had a few players that played very steady and I think we had two players that didn't score well. They started off poorly but at least brought it in (at the end.)"
On Marcia Wallis' effort: "Marcia's been really close all year, (she's) one of the fiercest competitors you've ever seen. She's one of the top soccer players in the country. So she's a competitor and I knew that once she got it going she was going to be there, right in the thick of things."
On team strategy going into day three: "Just (keep doing) the same thing we've been doing. Just (take it) one day at a time, one shot at a time. Just keep putting (ourselves) in position. We haven't made as many putts as we would have liked in the last few days. We had a little birdie contest in the second practice round and made a ton of birdies. They've been a little bit elusive in the last two days. The goal is still the same."
Lisa Meldrum
Oklahoma
On shooting a 67: "I had an awesome round. Everything went a lot better than yesterday. I played good up until the last six holes yesterday, so I wasn't too happy with that. I came out today and had six birdies and made a stupid bogey on 17. I just made some putts and hit the ball really well and was putting it close all day. I missed a couple of birdie putts that were short, but I'm pretty happy."
On her lone bogey of the day on 17: "I pulled my drive into the water and then hit a three wood up there and pitched up to about five feet and just missed the putt for par."
On the adjustments she made from yesterday: "Yesterday, I was really hitting well, but the putts were just not falling and something happened the last six holes and I blew it. Today, I knew today that I have been hitting the ball well and it was just a matter of the putts falling, which they did today."
Paige Mackenzie
Washington
On her play today: "I played well yesterday , so I was confident going into today, hoping that a few more putts would drop and I did. I just putted better today, and that's pretty much the only difference."
On recording a bogey on 14 and 15: "When it rains, it's always a little more difficult to concentrate, to keep yourself dry and to keep the ball clean, but the whole field is going through it. Maybe that's why I stumbled, maybe not."
On her plan for today: "My goal for the day was to birdie one hole every three holes - to be six-under - 66 - that's my goal, but I bogeyed 14 and 15 and then I started a new three holes - 16, 17 and 18. So I got to 16 and was like, I need to birdie this and I hit a great shot."
On starting the day with a birdie: "I love par fives and starting off on number one, you can get a birdie. It was great to start off with the great momentum."
On the team's performance: "After yesterday, we weren't happy with our score, but we were right where we wanted to be. We're the comeback team, which is what we've been doing all year. So I knew that if we just came in with another solid day and with a little better score, that we would continue to move up through the next two days."
Carol Ludvigson
Oklahoma Head Coach
On her team's play today: "I knew that we were ready to put a good score on the board. Yesterday, we almost had a good round and then we kind of blew it coming in, missing some putts. Today, we made some putts and the kids really gutted it out and worked hard out there and we made a lot of birdies. We were patient and they just have a lot of heart and showed it today from one through five positions."
On Lisa Meldrum's 67 today: "I told her yesterday that champions always bounce back. She was really down in the dumps feeling like she let the team down. We talked about it and I said that you've got to get yourself ready for today and think good thoughts. She came and told me before she teed off this morning that she was ready to go. She just knocked the ball stiff all day long, which was wonderful and exciting to see."
On if it was the best round for the team this year: "Yes, so far this year. It's really been interesting because we really have kind of played mediocre all year, knowing that we could put some low scores on the board, but not quite doing it. This is just the beginning and I'm very excited for them."
On what she will tell her team after today: "I'm going to tell them great round, this was a moving day for us. We looked at it like it was a moving day, but now we have two more days of moving in position. We're going to go back out there tommorrow and keep working hard on staying patient."
Todd McCorkle
Georgia Head Coach
On Summer Sirmons: "I think she's really striking the ball well. She's very confident and she's always been a very good iron player. She's really striking her irons well and hitting a lot of shots close to the hole."
On his team's position after day two: "Obviously, Summer and Angela (Jerman) are playing very well. Angela, I think I may have given her bad advice on 17, which may have contributed to her making a double bogey. I think that they are playing awesome. I like the fact that I feel like I have the best one-two punch in the country in those two, which lets us always feel like we will be in the game. Just looking at this leader board, there are 10 teams that still have a chance to win this tournament, probably. I like our position, just because I know I do have that leadership, and we have been there before having won last year. I think that gives us more confidence."
Summer Sirmons
Georgia
On feeling overlooked as a team coming into the tournament: "I think that we have been underestimated as a team. I don't think we are as strong as we were last year, but that doesn't mean that we can't come out and compete with the best teams in the country."
On her putt on 18: "When I was walking up to the green, I was thinking that I wanted to make it. Was I surprised that it went it, yes. Normally, on longer putts you just want to get it up near the hole, but I had the intentions of making it. I think it has a lot to do with how confident I am in my putter."
Mickey Yokoi
Arizona State Head Coach
On the team's second round effort: "This was one of our first rounds where Jimin wasn't our low scorer. Jimin has been the main part of our team. That's why we've done as well as we've done, because of Jimin. For the other kids to come through was really big. I think it's going to help us for the next couple rounds knowing that we can still do pretty well even if Jimin doesn't have a great day. So that all the burden doesn't go to her all the time. Blair (O'Neal) is playing really well right now, which is nice to see. Melanie (Hunt) coming back from 79 to 70 today is really big for us.
On the rain: "We just had that one rain spell, but we expected that. I'm surprised we've only had that one little rain thing here so far."
On the afternoon tee time: "I think the conditions have been pretty much the same, morning and afternoon. It seems like the whole day went the same way (weather-wise). I don't think that's a problem. I think the hardest part for our girls is that we never had an afternoon tee time the whole year. It's always been morning play because it's always a smaller field that we play in. So this morning the girls didn't know what to do so they all painted their nails together."
Blair O'Neal
Arizona State
On any differences in the second day of play: "The only difference today was that it started raining, which made it a little tougher but it wasn't (anything I couldn't handle.)"
On Jimin Kang's day (at six over par): "The good thing is that everybody else played really well. Everybody kind of stepped up to the plate. She had a (bad) day today, but there's two more days left so she can come back and play well."
Alena Sharp
New Mexico State
On her play on the second day: "The beginning was a little shaky and then it started raining. It held on for three holes... It was raining pretty hard. Then it stopped and it went really well. I had four holes right in a row that I hit it within 15 (or) 10 feet. I made two of the four birdies to get it to one under. Then I bogeyed eight and nine coming in."
On whether the rain affected her: "Maybe on 18 a little bit. On my shot I had perfect yardage into the flag and missed the green by a lot... Other than that it was ok. It was tough, playing in the rain, I haven't played in the rain for so long."
On starting off on the back nine: "The back nine is a little tougher so I guess it's good to get it out of the way first. I knew I was going to be teeing off of 10 so I was prepared for it."
Melanie Hagewood
Baylor
On being among the leaders: "All it really is is that I learned to think about every shot and not worry about whether you're in the lead or what place you're in. It's fun. I'm still getting used to it, being up there."'
"It's been fun to play golf the last two days. The weather was really great the first day. Today we got a little rain, but that's okay. I just played through it. I just kept trying to figure out what I'm like and what kind of golfer I am. I think that's what golf is all about."
On coming to her first NCAA Championships: "I was nervous at first. I wanted to play well. I really wanted my team to be here with me and they couldn't be here. I just decided, hey, this is a learning experience. I'm going to go out and play each shot. I've been playing well and have had a good focus on my golf game. Top 20 was a goal for me. It's about staying in the process and having a good game plan and I've done that the last two days."
"I've been struggling with my mental game but it's been coming around. I guess I'm finally deciding that I can play golf. Thanks to my coach (Sylvia Ferdon). She's done an awesome job and taught me everything I know.
"Also, it's fun to have my parents and boyfriend here supporting me. I just wish my team was here. I had to look at it like this is my first summer tournament. It was very disappointing that our team didn't make it. It's not that you don't have as much pressure when you're here by yourself, but it's easier to think more about yourself when you're not playing with your team. When I'm with the team, I'm always wondering how everyone else is doing. When it's just me, I figure, let's just see what I can do today."
