May 18, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The fourth-ranked and defending national champion Purdue women's golf team is in third place after the first round of the 2011 Women's Golf Championships in Bryan, Texas. The Boilermakers recorded a team score of 292 (+4) to trail No. 2 UCLA (289, +1) by three strokes and No. 5 Virginia (291, +3) by one.
The championships, hosted by Texas A&M University, is being played at the at the Traditions Club a par-72, 6,260-yard course. The NCAA women's tournament features 24 teams and six individuals who will compete through all four rounds. The final round will be held on Saturday when both a team and individual champion will be crowned.
On Wednesday, the Boilermakers were led by Big Ten medalist Numa Gulyanamitta who fired a team-low 71 and is tied for fifth. The senior from Thailand recorded a team-best four birdies on the front nine followed by three bogeys on the back nine to finish one-under par for the day which is two shots off the lead.
Virginia's Brittany Altomare sits atop the individual leaderboard after recording a three-under par 69.
Sophomore Paula Reto carded three birdies, including one on the final hole to finish at one-over par 73 in the first round. The Cape Town, South Africa, native's 73 is nearly two strokes better than her season average of 74.9 strokes per round and puts her in a tie for 23rd.
Laura Gonzalez-Escallon, Maude-Aimee LeBlanc and Thea Hoffmeister each shot a 74 in the opening round to tie for 31st. LeBlanc made three birdies, but double-bogeyed holes No. 9 and 14. The Sherbrooke, Quebec native finished steady with pars on her final four holes. Gonzalez-Escallon had one birdie and three bogeys for her total and Hoffmeister recorded four bogeys through the first 12 holes, but finished with birdies on No. 13 and No. 18 to take a 74 into the clubhouse.
Purdue will tee off from the 10th tee beginning at 2:36 p.m. ET on Thursday and will again be paired with Ohio State and South Carolina. Live scoring is available on ncaa.com and daily recaps will be posted to purduesports.com.
For full results from the first round of play at the NCAA Championships, click here.