Post-Round Notes - Day 3
May 23, 2002
Washington's Louise Friberg scored the low round of the day, equaling the course record with a 5-under par 67. Friberg made seven birdies, the most by any tournament player this week, in equaling the 67 fired by Oklahoma's Lisa Meldrum on Wednesday. The mark was a career-best for Friberg, who broke her previous record of 69.
Louise Friberg's 67 equals the third-lowest round ever by a Husky, and is the lowest in the postseason since Dodie Mazzuca carded a 69 at the 1997 NCAA West Regional in Tuscon, Ariz.
After playing the first 14 holes 3-over par, including a double-bogey on No. 3 (her 12th hole of the day), Arizona's Lorena Ochoa stood at risk of posting her first over-par round of the tournament, and just her fifth in 29 rounds this season. However, Ochoa birdied the sixth and eighth holes, and eagled No. 7 to finish at 1-under 71. In seven career rounds of NCAA Championships play, Ochoa has carded just one round over par, a 1-over 73 in the first round of the 2001 Championships in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Seventh-ranked Arizona, which stood 13-over par for the day through 14 holes, tallied six birdies and an eagle in the closing four holes to pick up eight strokes and finish 5-over for the day, 10-over for the tournament, and in the lead for the third-consecutive day. The Wildcats are bidding for their second national title in three years, having also won the crown to end the 2000 season.
Texas continued its amazing run, which saw the team close to within two strokes of the lead, after falling behind by a whopping 20 strokes on the tournament's first day. On Thursday, the Longhorns established a school record with a round of 285, breaking the record of 286 equaled in Wednesday's round. Prior to this week, Texas had carded just two rounds under 290 all season, including a 287 at September's NCAA Preview at Washington National. Three of Texas' four best rounds this season have come on the Washington National course.
Texas' Kristin Dufour equaled her career-best with a round of 2-under 70 on Thursday. Ironically, Dufour carded her most recent 70 at last year's NCAA Championships, in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
With a 2-under 70 on Thursday, Duke's Virada Nirapathpongporn improved to 9-under for the tournament. The sophomore needs to fire a 69 on Friday to equal the under-par record for the NCAA Championships held by Penny Hammel of Miami (Fla.), who was 12-under in 1983. Nirapathpongporn, whose score stands at 207 through three rounds, is also within range of the all-time NCAA Championships scoring record of 279 established by Jennifer Rosales of USC in 1998.
Duke sophomore Virada Nirapathpongporn has found Washington National's front nine much more to her liking this week. Nirapathpongporn is playing holes one through nine 8-under for the week, with eight birdies and not a single bogey. On the back nine, however, the Blue Devils' sophomore is just 1-under par, with six birdies but all five of her bogeys in championship play. Nirapathpongporn will begin her round Friday on hole No. 1.
Georgia's Summer Sirmons remained within three shots of leader Virada Nirapathpongporn of Duke, despite an up-and-down round which featured five bogeys and four birdies. Prior to Friday, Sirmons had made just three bogeys all week in compiling her two lowest rounds of her career.
For the third-consecutive day, Washington National's 10th hole proved to be among the toughest on the course. The par-4 averaged scores of 4.51 on Tuesday (2nd highest relative to par), 4.53 on Thursday (highest relative to par) and 4.38 on Thursday (2nd highest). The 10th is the only hole on the golf course to rate among the top-five toughest each day of the tournament. Only one other hole, the ninth, has even ranked in the top-10 each day.
Only three of the top-10 ranked players in the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Rankings are currently in the top-10 of this week's championship. No. 1 Lorena Ochoa is third, four strokes behind sixth-ranked Virada Nirapathpongporn of Duke. Georgia's Angela Jerman, ranked fifth overall, is tied for eighth at 1-under. Florida's Andrea Vander Lende, Golfweek's 84th-ranked player, is tied for sixth, while Stanford's Marcia Wallis, currently sitting 10th in the tournament, entered as the 167th-ranked player in the nation.
Two competitors at this week's championships have found success in the absence of their teammates. Kent State's Martina Gillen and LSU's Meredith Duncan, both competing as individuals after earning two of the NCAA's six provisional tournament berths, each rank in the top-20 through three days of competition. Gillen followed up back-to-back 74's with a 2-under 70 on Thursday, placing her in a tie for 12th overall at 2-over par. Duncan, likewise, saved her best round for Thursday, carding a 1-under 71 to climb into a tie for 17th at 3-over.
No player among the top-15 on the leaderboard fired a round under 70 in Thursday's action, after combining for seven such rounds on the first two days. In fact, Arizona State's Jimin Kang was the only player in the top-20, and one of just three in the entire day to card a sub-70 round. Kang's 4-under 68 was a 10-stroke improvement over her second-round 78, and places the ASU sophomore in a tie for 17th at 3-over par.
