THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2007
SPORTS
3B
MEN'S GOLF
Team takes second in home invite, ties with Oral Roberts
Adam MacDonald/KANSAN
BY BILL WALBERG bwalberg@kansan.edu
The Kansas Men's team took second in the Kansas Invitational. The team tied with Oral Roberts and lost to the University of Houston.
The Kansas Men's Golf team placed second yesterday in the Kansas Invitational after finishing at dismal 17th place at the St. Mary's Invitational only a week earlier. Kansas held first place going into the second day but couldn't hold onto the lead. Kansas tied for second place with Oral Roberts.
The University of Houston Cougars passed the Jayhawks on the second day and won by six strokes. Kansas also lost the individual title to the Cougar's Jordan Irwin. The second place tie snapped the team's three-year reign over the Kansas Invitational.
Coach Kit Grove expressed his
feelings about the end result.
"Obviously we are a little disappointed because you expect to win when you are leading coming into the final round at your home course," Grove said.
Grove's young squad showed major improvements from the St. Mary's Invitational, especially on short game performance.
Some of the younger players gave the golf team a boost, mainly freshman Nate Barbee. Barbee led the Jayhawks for the second straight tournament. Barbee cracked the top 10 for the first time in Division I play, finishing tied for eighth place.
Freshman Brad Hopfinger made his college debut in the Kansas Invitational scoring just four above par on the final round. Hopfinger
did struggle in the invitational, finishing only 22nd, while tying for the most birdies in the tournament with 11.
Junior Walt Koelbel followed Barbee and finished tied for 11th place. This made a personal mark in his record book. Koelbel's finish was his best at the Kansas Invitational and his second career best. Junior Zach Pederson tied Koelbel and shot a team best on Tuesday at 73.
Kansas State and the University of California at Davis rounded out the top five for the Kansas Invitational. The team will attempt to win its first title of the season in Glencoe, Ill., where the Jayhawks will compete in the Windon Memorial Classic.
—Edited by Rachael Gray
standings
Place -School-Score after 3 rounds Place-Best Player-Score after 3 rounds
1-Houston-888
1-Jordan Irwin-215
T-2-Oral Roberts-894
T-3-Austin Hannah-218
T-2-Kansas-894
T-8-Nate Barbee-221
4-Kansas State-898
T-16-Mitchell Gregson-223
5-UC Davis-902
T-6 Matt Marshall-220
》 WOMEN'S GOLF
Jayhawks finish seventh in Colorado
BY ANDREW WIEBE
awiebe@kansan.edu
The University of Kansas women's golf team should have no trouble playing in wet conditions. In fact, the Jayhawks may not know how to play in anything else. Storms once again kept the team from enjoying a tournament with no delays or difficult conditions.
Despite playing below its expectations in a rain-shortened round on Monday, Kansas battled back from a first-day, 12th place finish to end in seventh in an 18-team field at the University of Denver's Ron Moore Invitational at Highlands Ranch Golf Club.
Initially the players had some trouble adjusting to a new course and tricky greens but eventually settled down to finish strong and catapult themselves up the leaderboard on the second day.
"It was a course we have never played and the weather was bad again but that's no excuse." Coach Erin O'Neil said. "I think it was just getting a feel for the course and young players take a little longer to adjust. The greens were a little faster than they were last week."
The Jayhawks were led by sophomore Emily Powers, who shot an impressive 5-under par in her final round to guide Kansas to a third round team total of 294, the third lowest team round in the tournament. Powers' said her miraculous eagle five holes into the final round gave her the confidence she needed to post a low score.
"I lolled out from 135 yards," she said. "It gave me momentum for the
rest of the round. The day before I was kind of down about my iron shots and it actually gave me and confidence that I could hit it close to the pin."
Powers ended the tournament in a four-way tie for seventh and her round of 67 was the lowest round of the tournament. Senior Annie Giangrosso provided a steadying upperclassman presence as her consistent scoring earned her a tie for 26th. Meanwhile the rest of the team continued a pattern of improvement after the first round. Sophomore Meghan Gockel tied for 64th, freshman Megna Bal tied for 36th and freshman Grace Thiry tied for 71st. All made the necessary adjustments to improve their play as the tournament progressed.
O'Neil said her team's pattern of improvement was a result of each player's mindset as they enter the final round.
board because that's usually when people will falter"
"I was really pleased with how they played today after a long day yesterday," O'Neil said. "I always talk to them about finishing strong and moving your way up the leader
Kansas made its move against top competition. As expected, the University of Denver won the tournament handily but Kansas was able to hold its own against a tough group of Big 12 conference opponents, finishing fourth among the seven Big 12 teams competing.
The performance was an encouraging one as the team battled adversity to finish in the top half of the field. O'Neil said her team showed its potential by being patient and playing smart, despite struggles the first day.
"You are never really out of it. It can change with one swing," she said. "Momentum can shift from bad to good. I think they are seeing that it doesn't have to be perfect and it doesn't have to be pretty."
Regardless of their initial struggles, the team has shown a resiliency that should serve them well throughout the fall and into the spring. Now they can only hope the rain will stop following their every move.
Edited by Luke Morris
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