March 5, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. — The 11th-ranked New Mexico women’s golf team is currently tied for seventh after the first and second rounds of the UCF Challenge held at the Grand Cypress Golf Club in Orlando, Fla. The Lobos fired a 41-over par 617 on the opening day and sit tied with Purdue heading into the finals at the par 72, 6233-yard course. No. 3 Duke leads the event after shooting a 3-under par 573 and has a commanding 21-shot advantage on the 13-team field.
Freshman Jodi Ewart (76-75=151) is tied for 17th individually after shooting a 7-over par 151 through the first two rounds. Sophomore Mikaela Backstedt fired a 74 in the first round and a 79 in the second to finish the day at 9-over par 153. Backstedt enters the finals tied for 24th. Sophomore Py Bengtsson (77-80=157) is tied for 40th and junior Alexandra Phelps (80-78=158) is one of seven players tied for 44th at 14-over par. Junior Giselle Claux (81-78=159) rounds out the lineup for UNM after firing a 15-over par 159 and sits tied for 51st.
Duke has dominated the field through the first two rounds and controls their own destiny in the finals. No. 4 Pepperdine is second after shooting an 18-over par 594, while No. 2 Georgia is third at 19-over par. The remaining top-10 includes No. 9 Vanderbilt (+24) at fourth, No. 27 LSU (+36) is fifth, No. 17 Florida (+38) is sixth followed by UNM (+41) and Purdue (+41). The final two spots belong to Alabama (+46) and Arkansas (+48).
Individually, Amanda Blumenherst of Duke is 9-under par 135 for the tournament and has a 10 shot lead on five competitors at 1-over par 145.
The tournament continues Tuesday with the final round start at 8 a.m. EST. Livestats of the event are available through www.Golfstats.com, with a complete recap posted on www.GoLobos.com.