University of Minnesota Athletics
Current Gophers Gaining Tournament Experience
6/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
University of Minnesota women's golfers Michele Edlin (Jackson, Minn.), Chelsey Falk (Glenwood, Minn.), Mary Narzisi (Omaha, Neb.), Teresa Puga (A Coruña, Spain), Jackie Shepherd (Delafield, Wis.) and Samantha Sommers (St. Cloud, Minn.) recently competed in their first amateur tournaments of the summer season.
Puga and Sommers each qualified, and played in, the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship at Notre Dame's Warren Golf Club in South Bend, Ind. while Edlin, Falk, Narzisi and Shepherd competed in the 110th Women's Western National Amateur at the Rochester Golf and Country Club in Rochester, Minn.
The Western National Amateur is a six-day event consisting of two rounds of qualifying stroke play and four days of match play. 64 players moved on to the Championship Flight of match play including Edlin, Shepherd and Narzisi. Edlin paced the Gopher individuals with a 36-hole score of 154 (77-77), followed by Shepherd with a 157 (77-80) and Narzisi (84-74). Falk was one of 22 players to move on to the First Flight. She carded a 164 (83-81) during stroke play.
In the first round of match play, Shepherd needed 20 holes to defeat Kylie Fuller of Northwestern University while Narzisi outdueled her teammate Edlin 1-up to move on in the championship. Falk was defeated 6 and 4 in the first round of the First Flight by Emily Johnson of Winona Lake, Ind.
Narzisi moved on to the field of 16 in match play action after defeating Bambee Dela Paz of the Philippines 5 and 4 in the morning round on June 24. Shepherd almost joined Narzisi in the field but fell to Mia Piccio of California 2 and 1.
The championship ended for Narzisi in the round of 16 when she fell to Dottie Ardina of the Philippines 4 and 3.
Sommers and Puga, each playing in their first Women's Amateur Public Links tournament, narrowly missed the cut in South Bend after 36 holes. Sommers carded a 156 (78-78) while Puga recorded rounds of 82 and 78 (158).
The Gophers established many records in 2009-10. Statistically, Minnesota averaged a combined score of 303.8 on the season for a stroke average of 75.95, bettering last season's averages of 311.4 and 77.85, respectively, for the lowest season averages in school history. Prior to last season, the previous low was established by the 1987-88 team with a season average 77.97.
As a team, the Gophers finished in the top 10 in nine of the team's 10 regular season tournaments, five of which were also top-five finishes. Also, the Gophers established five of the program's top 10 54-hole scores this season, including a season-low 893 in the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate Feb. 21-23 and shot a program-best 72-hole score of 1,208 at the 2010 Big Ten Championships. The team also added seven of the lowest 18-hole rounds in the history of the program, including a season-low round of 289 in April at the Indiana Invitational.
Players Mentioned
