Oct. 18, 2002
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 17 Purdue women's golf team is tied for third place after the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Women's Collegiate Championships in Knoxville, Tenn. The event is being played at the par 72, 5,985-yard Gettysvue Polo, Golf and Country Club.
The Boilermakers fired a first-round 304 and trail the Swedish Junior National team by four strokes for first place. Purdue is tied with Michigan State, while Auburn is in second after a opening-round 303.
Senior All-America candidate Kari Damron led the Boilermakers with an opening-round 74. Damron recorded two birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey and is tied for fifth overall.
Senior Heather Zielinski and junior Beth Hermes carded a pair of 75s on the day. They are both tied for 11th after the first round.
Senior Heather Suhr is tied for 39th after a first-round 80. Junior Ella Asbun carded an 81 and is tied for 43rd.
"We're pleased with our first round," said head coach Devon Brouse. "We are in a good position to make a move on Saturday and grab part of the lead. We need to have one more person step up with a good score and we'll be in contention."
The Boilermakers are the tournaments' defending champions after firing a 902 last year. Purdue senior Kari Damron captured the individual title last season after carding a one-over 217.
The second round begins on Saturday at 9 a.m. and live scoring will be provided by www.golfstat.com.
Place Individual 1st Rd. 2nd Rd. 3rd Rd. TotalT5 Kari Damron 74 74 +2T11 Heather Zielinski 75 75 +3T11 Beth Hermes 75 75 +3T39 Heather Suhr 80 80 +8T43 Ella Asbun 81 81 +9
Place Team 1st Rd. 2nd Rd. 3rd Rd. Total1 Swedish Juniors 300 300 +122 Auburn 303 303 +15T3 Michigan State 304 304 +16T3 Purdue 304 304 +165 UNLV 306 306 +186 Northwestern 308 308 +207 Florida 313 313 +25T8 Kentucky 314 314 +26T8 North Carolina 314 314 +2610 Furman 317 317 +2911 Tennessee 319 319 +3112 Penn State 323 323 +3513 Alabama 326 326 +3814 LSU 327 327 +3915 Michigan 329 329 +41