Alabama Tied for Sixth at Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship
10/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ?? The University of Alabama women's golf team, competing in its second-straight field full of ranked opponents, is tied for sixth place after the first round of action at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship in Knoxville, Tenn. The 15-team event is being hosted by the University of Tennessee and is being played at the Cherokee Country Club.
"I thought we did a great job of hanging in there today," head coach Mic Potter said. "There were times it could have gone the other way on some holes, but we hung in there and put some birdies together when we needed them. One thing for sure I am happy with, as far as the course goes, is that we have showed we have improved a lot from last year at this time on these types of courses."
The Tide fired a team round of 303 in its first 18 holes of play at the Mercedes-Benz, knocking 19 strokes off of the 2005 score recorded by Alabama in the first round at the same event last season.
Auburn leads the event by nine strokes over the Swedish Junior National team that holds down second place in the team standings. Top-ranked Georgia, No. 8 North Carolina and host Tennessee make up the remainder of the top five. Alabama is tied with SEC rival Arkansas in sixth place, five strokes behind the fifth-place Lady Vols.
The Mercedes-Benz boasts another outstanding field of competitors. Three top-10 teams are among the 11 squads at the event who are ranked in the top 30. Alabama was ranked No. 38 coming into the weekend.
"I think we have to trust ourselves a little more tomorrow," Potter said. "There were certain holes we were looking at some difficult shots and we were trying to guide shots instead of trusting our swings and hitting them. We need to just let it go and trust what we know we have for talent."
Sophomore Laura Goodwin and All-American Jenny Suh led the Tide on the afternoon, as each posted a two-over 74 in opening-day competition. Suh, the first team All-SEC and first team All-American performer from a year ago, has the team's best stroke average for the season and has shot 75 or under in six of her seven rounds this year. Goodwin set a career mark in the season opener in September with a 217 at the Cougar Classic.
"Laura birdied two of the last three holes and hit some good shots," Potter said. "It is really impressive because she has been struggling with her swing lately, but you can see that it is coming around and that she has really improved her short game."
Senior Amy Middleton shot the best round of her 2006 fall season by firing a 76 in the initial 18 holes of play. Middleton, from Citronelle, Ala., is competing in her second event of the season after appearing in just one tournament as a junior a year ago.
Sarah Sturm recorded a 79 and true freshman Helena Blomberg shot an 82 for the Tide, while Rhea Nair, a true freshman competing as an individual at the event, equaled her classmate with an 82 of her own.
The second round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship is slated to begin on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 8:30 a.m. (ET). Live results are available on www.golfstat.com or on the Tennessee athletics web site, www.utladyvols.com.
