RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The CSU Bakersfield women's golf team opened its spring season at the Battle at the Rock, a 54 hole tournament at Oak Quarry Golf Club in record style. TWICE! And CSUB will enter the final round in seventh place in the 14 team tournament, a tournament that the `Runners finished 15
th out of 15 teams last season.
The Roadrunners would shoot an opening round 302 (+14) to beat the CSUB 18-hole team record by one stroke.
First round individual scores for the `Runners:
Senior
Ariel Lee 74 (+2)
Sophomore
Misha Vega 75 (+3)
Senior
Tori Peers 76 (+4)
Sophomore
Macey Mills 77 (+5)
Senior
Julia Stewart 79 (+7)
Lee's first round was uneventful, four bogeys after an opening birdie on hole #6 and a birdie on her 17
th hole to shoot a 74. If you have ever played golf, you know uneventful is a great, great thing.
But, Vega stole the show in the first round. Besides breaking her personal collegiate single round record by six strokes, it is how the sophomore did it. Vega would tee off on hole nine to start her round and she would birdie her second hole, but Vega would double bogey holes 12, 14, 15 and bogey 17 to go out in +6. Golf is a funny thing. If you can be strong enough mentally, you can have a second strong nine and salvage your round. And Vega did that, and more. Vega would shoot -3 coming in to finish her round at +3. That is mental toughness right there.
The `Runners as a team would be tied for ninth in the 14 team field after the first 18 holes.
The `Runners would stay hot in the afternoon round, so hot in fact, that CSUB would break a record that had stood for about five hours. The `Runners would go out and shoot a 296 in the afternoon to break the record CSUB had set in the morning, by SIX STROKES.
Second round scores from the `Runners:
Lee 73 (+1)
Mills 73 (+1)
Vega 75 (+3)
Peers 75 (+3)
Stewart 84 (+12)
Golfers are always trying to avoid the big number and the `Runners top four golfers did that in the afternoon round by only having two double bogeys between the four of them.
Lee improves on her first round by a shot and enters the final round tied for 14
th. Vega, read round 1 recap. She ties her personal best collegiate score, just five hours later. Mills improves by four shots on her morning round and Peers improves on her morning round as well, by one shot.
Director of Golf for CSUB
Meghan Thomason would talk about her team's historic day, "This is a good way to start our spring season. This is a testament to the hard work they put in over the winter. I'm especially proud of Misha's (Vega) two rounds. This was the first time she has qualified for the line up and she stepped up big time. Today was really fun but our work isn't done. We need a solid one tomorrow to finish it off."
The `Runners have four golfers in the top 32 of the 81 player field going into the final round of the tournament tomorrow morning.
