May 8, 2008

Lincoln, Calif. - Tulsa had three golfers shoot under-par in first round action at the NCAA West Regional on Thursday afternoon. The Golden Hurricane has a one-under par 287 total for second place in the 21-team field at the par-72 Lincoln Hills Golf Club.

The nation's second-ranked Southern Cal Trojans carded an opening round five-under par 283, and has a four-stroke lead over the Hurricane. Tulsa sits one stroke ahead of UNLV (288), while Arkansas (291) is four strokes back and Oklahoma State is five strokes behind the Hurricane in fifth place. Rounding out the top-10 teams are four schools tied for sixth place with 295 totals, including BYU, Michigan State, Stanford and California, while fourth-ranked Arizona State (296) is in 10th place.

Tulsa senior Michaela Cavener, ranked 45th nationally by Golfstat, carded a two-under par 70 and sits in a tie for seventh place, while Tulsa's two other under-par scores came from freshman Kelly Fuchik and senior Tara Goedeken with rounds of 71 today to tie for ninth place with seven other golfers.

The Hurricane began the day's round on hole 12, and it wasn't a good start as the women were seven-over par following the first two holes. Cavener was three-over par after her first five holes, but a birdie on hole 3, her 10th hole of the day began a nine-hole stretch that saw her go five-under par with four birdies, one eagle and a bogey.

Goedeken bogeyed her second hole of the day, the par 4 13th, and double-bogeyed the par-3 16th after a birdie on the 15th hole. She rounded out the day by nailing birdie putts on holes 6, 8, 9 and 10, but suffered a bogey on her final hole of the day, the par 3 11th hole. Fuchik had a similar round, going four-over par in her first five holes, but turning in six birdies and only two bogeys the rest of the way. She birdied four of her final eight holes and three straight -- the 9th, 10th and 11th holes.

Junior Woori Shin pared 15 holes and had three bogeys on the day to finish first round action with a total of 75 for 47th place. Her round was the fourth score to count for the Hurricane in Thursday's action - as Tulsa counted a round of 70, two 71s and a 75 for its team score of 287. Senior Leisl Hasbrouck turned in a five-over par round of 77 to tie for 65th place, as she had one birdie to go with four bogeys and one double bogey on the day.

"We started the day on hole 12, and not only is hole 12 through 17 the most difficult holes on the course, but we played poorly in the beginning. We then settled in and played well from that point on. It was fun," said Tulsa Head Coach Randy Keck. "We played like we're capable of playing. We've been close all spring to getting it exactly right, and today everyone played the way they're supposed to play."

Keck wasn't surprised that his team bounced back from a tough start. "I think with the harsh conditions that we face throughout the year we're used to having tough starts because conditions are tough, just like the high winds we faced at the Conference USA Championship. Also, I feel like this team is tougher mentally than a lot of teams and I think that has to do with the experience of having three seniors and a junior in the lineup," said Keck.

UCF and East Carolina are both competing in the NCAA East Regional at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga. After 18 holes, UCF is tied for 17th place with a 312 (+24) and East Carolina is in 19th place with a 314 (26+).

Second round action takes place on Friday, while the tournament will conclude on Saturday. The top eight teams and two individuals will advance from the three regional tournaments (East, Central and West) to the NCAA Championship finals, which will be held May 20-24 at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M.