Gators Fall to 9th at Nationals

May 9, 2007

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – After finishing fifth after the first day at the NCAA Division III National Championships, the Allegheny College Gators dropped four spots into 9th overall heading into the second half of the tournament. The Gators carded a remarkable score of 341 in the opening round, before struggling on the back nine of the second day, ending the competition with a second-day score of 358 for a total of 699 heading into the third day of the championship.

Methodist, the defending champion, is dominating the field by carding a remarkable two-day score of 612, while Southwestern (659), DePauw (663), Gustavus Adolphus (666), St. Thomas (675), UW-Eau Claire (682), Illinois Wesleyan (683) and Middlebury (689) finished in front of the Gators.

Alison Bruckner (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) picked up nine pars and seven bogeys on her second round, but fell victim to two holes, #8 and #16. On the first of the pair, she carded a score of eight on the par three hole, and on the second she used seven strokes on the par-four. The two holes dropped the sophomore from seven to 15 over par for the round, as she ended the day with an 88, putting her in 27th place heading into the second half of the event.

After struggling on the first day, Jaime Reints (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) evenly turned her score towards the better. Over the first nine holes Reints used four pars and five bogeys to turn in a five-over par score at the turn, two strokes better than her total over the same holes a day ago. She picked up four pars and four bogeys over the first eight holes of the back nine, before struggling on the course’s signature hole, carding a triple bogey on the final hole of the day, giving her a seven-over total on the back nine. Her total is up from an eight-over day yesterday, and her round of 85 for the round puts her in 45th overall.

Lisa Coleman (Lakeview, N.Y./Frontier Central) started the front nine with a five-over par total, three strokes better than her first day score, before turning in four double bogeys, three bogeys and two pars on the back half nine, taking her to a 16-over score of 89, three strokes off of her total from the first day, and currently sitting in 49th place overall.

Like Coleman, Lauren Torso (Zelienople, Pa./Seneca Valley) started the day strong, sitting at six over par at the turn with five pars and two bogeys. The second nine wasn’t as friendly to the sophomore, as she picked up just one par and one bogey over the final nine holes, shooting 17 over par, giving her a 23-over 96 for the round, good for 67th in the field.

Kim Elam (Batavia, Ill./Batavia), in her first national meet, finished her second day one stroke better than her first, carding one shot better on the opening nine holes than the day before shooting the same score on the final nine holes as she did on Tuesday, giving her a 99 on the second day, placing 101st overall.

The Gators continue their run at the championships tomorrow. Tee times will be announced later this evening.

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