Alabama
NCAA Auburn Regional
Alabama in 10th After Day One of 2019 NCAA Women’s Golf Regionals
5/6/2019 4:54:00 PM | Women's Golf
Junior Kenzie Wright leads the Tide in Monday’s first-round action
AUBURN, Ala. – The No. 10 seed Alabama women's golf team received a strong opening round from junior Kenzie Wright to earn a 10th-place team result after the first day of competition at the 2019 NCAA Women's Golf Auburn Regional on Monday.
The Crimson Tide posted a total team score of 12-over par 300 and will enter the second round just six strokes out of sixth place.
"I told Susan (Rosenstiel), my assistant, that if we could be in the top-10 and have some kind of contact with the top six it would be a confidence builder," head coach Mic Potter said. "I hope our girls gain confidence out of that. We haven't gotten off to the great starts at any point this year, since losing two girls. We had a really good chance today at the turn, but we need to find out how to stay focused throughout the day. We threw away a lot of shots coming in, mostly our mistakes, not the golf course getting us. It is a separator for sure."
Wright paced Alabama's first-round performance. The Frisco, Texas, native opened the day with four birdies over her first nine holes to produce the team's low round, firing a 1-over par 73 to end the day in a tie for 14th.
Wright was supported by sophomore Angelica Moresco and junior Anna Reid, who each shot a 3-over par 75 and are tied for 34th after 18 holes of play. Junior Jiwon Jeon, who entered regional play ranked No. 7 in the latest Golfweek individual rankings, turned in a 5-over par 77 on the par 72, 6,371-yard Saugahatchee Country Club and is in a tie for 62nd. The fifth Crimson Tide player, freshman Mary Mac Trammell, registered 10-over par 82 in her first initial postseason test.
Southeastern Conference foe and No. 6-ranked Vanderbilt entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and holds the first-round lead with a team total of 1-under par 287. The Commodores scorched the course with the only team to finish under par on the day. Duke, who entered the regional as the top seed, falls next on the leaderboard with a 2-over par 290, followed by No. 11 Florida State and No. 14 East Carolina who are tied for third at 291 and No. 11 Tennessee and No. 13 Maryland tied for fifth at 294 to round out the top six teams after day one, respectively.
"Going into tomorrow I am telling the team, keep doing what you are doing. It was good enough to get us a good front nine score, then it is good enough to get us around the golf course," Potter said.
The top six teams after 54 holes will advance to the 2019 NCAA Women's Golf Championships, which will be held May 17-22 at University of Arkansas at the Blessings Golf Club, in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Crimson Tide will be paired with No. 12 Cal and No. 15 Denver during Tuesday's second round. The teams will tee off on hole No. 10 beginning at 8 a.m. CT. Live scoring throughout the regional can be found on www.golfstat.com.
For all the latest information on the team, follow @AlabamaWGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
