March 30, 2012

Live Scoring and Results

TEMPE, Ariz. - Demi Runas had three birdies on her way to a 1-under 70 on Friday and fellow junior Amy Simanton had four while shooting a 71 as the No. 26 UC Davis women's golf team grabbed fourth place after one round of the PING/ASU Invitational at Karsten Golf Course.

The 17-team tournament is showcasing one of the most competitive fields during the spring season with 16 top-50 teams, including five in the top 10. The Aggies, who shot 2-over 286 on Friday, are currently in front of seven teams ranked higher than them, a group that includes No. 3 USC, No. 7 Vanderbilt, No. 8 LSU and No. 11 Oklahoma State.

Runas and Simanton led the way for UC Davis which has three players in the top 25. Runas is tied for ninth, Simanton is tied for 13th and freshman Beverly Vatananugulkit shot 72 and is tied for 22nd. Sophomore Jessica Chulya fired a 73 and is tied for 37th while freshman Blair Lewis had a 76 and is tied for 64th.

"We had great leadership today from Demi and Amy," said Aggie coach Anne Walker. "They are experienced players and they showed that today. We played disciplined golf today even though it would have been easy to go pin-seeking, and it paid off in our result.

"As we move into the weekend we want to continue to stay positive with our thoughts and confident with our swings," she added. "If we can commit to that, the results will follow."

Host Arizona State, ranked fifth, took the early lead atop the team leaderboard, shooting 4-under 280 on its home course. Top-ranked UCLA and No. 39 Stanford are four shots back in second while fourth-place UC Davis is ahead of UNLV and No. 13 Texas A&M by a shot.

Runas had a trio of birdies and just two bogeys in her opening round, making the turn even and coming down the stretch with the same score before a birdie on the par-5 17th put her in the red.

Simanton was 2 over after nine holes but birdied two of her first five holes on the back to help her play the final nine holes 2 under and come in at par.

Vatananugulkit carded two birdies and three bogeys on her front nine before posting nine straight pars to end her round. Chulya had a steady round over her first 17 holes, picking up 15 pars, before a double-bogey on her last hole. Lewis was 2 over on the front and 3 over on the back, highlighting her day with a birdie on the par-3 12th.

Bethany Calvo of UNLV and Justine Lee of Arizona State set the early pace among individuals, each posting 67's for a one-shot lead over four other players.

UC Davis will begin the second round at 8:10 a.m. and play with UNLV and Texas A&M. The tournament continues with the final round on Sunday.

PING/ASU INVITATIONAL
Tempe, Ariz. (hosted by Arizona State)
Karsten Golf Course
Par 71, 6,121 yards
18 of 54 holes

TEAMS
1. Arizona State, 280
T2. UCLA, 284
T2. Stanford, 284
4. UC DAVIS, 286
T5. UNLV, 287
T5. Texas A&M, 287
T7. Texas, 289
T7. USC, 289
9. Arizona, 291
10. TCU, 292
11. LSU, 294
12. Vanderbilt, 295
13. Oklahoma State, 296
14. Washington, 298
T15. San Diego State, 302
T15. New Mexico, 302
17. Oregon State, 306

INDIVIDUAL
T1. Bethany Calvo, UNLV, 67
T1. Justin Lee, Arizona State, 67

UC DAVIS
T9. Demi Runas, 70
T13. Amy Simanton, 71
T22. Beverly Vatananugulkit, 72
T37. Jessica Chulya, 73
T64. Blair Lewis, 76