Oct. 28, 2002
AVILA BEACH, Calif. - The Santa Clara University women's golf squad had a rough go of things during the first round of the Cal Poly Invitational Monday morning, having one player withdraw from the tournament with a wrist injury and another having to play with the flu.
The Broncos finished day one of the tournament in fifth place with a team score of 342, just 11 strokes out of fourth place. Cal State Northridge sits in first place with a score of 322, three shots ahead of second place UC Riversdie.
Sophomore Courtney Dimpel-Composti posted the best score of the day for the Broncos, carding an opening round 79, good enough for a tie for fourth place. Freshman Meggie Fagundes is currently tied for 16th place after firing an opening round 84, while fellow freshman Candice Palmer is in a tie for 19th place after shooting an 85 on day one.
Freshman Deanna Slaman began the tournament but was forced to withdraw after suffering a wrist injury that will force her to miss Tuesday's round two as well. Fellow freshman Nikki Mack, who was suffering from the stomach flu on Monday, was forced to play because of Slaman's withdrawal and the Broncos needing a fourth score to field a full team. Mack carded a 94 despite the flu, allowing the Broncos to continue in the tournament as a team.
"Obviously we wish we had both Deanna and Nikki playing at full strength, but that just wasn't an option today," said head coach Polly Schulze. "I'm proud of the way we battled through the tough day today. I think that our outlook still looks promising for the fall and we will continue to work on getting to where we want to be."
Tuesday's second round will be the final fall competitive round for the Broncos who will not play again until late February. The 5,947-yard, par-72 layout of the Avila Beach Resort Golf Club in Avila Beach, Calif., yielded only five rounds in the 70's on day one. Emma Wahlgren on Cal State Northridge and Gina Drago of Cal Poly sitting in a tie for first place with their first round 76.
The second round at Avila Beach will begin at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning.
