Challenge at Wolfdancer: Colorado beats Texas Tech by one
Texas Tech photo
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Colorado women’s golf team was able to maintain its composure on a challenging and tricky golf course and the Buffs took first place at the Texas State Challenge at Wolfdancer on Monday afternoon.
Colorado (307-313-308—928) was followed by Texas Tech (929), host Texas State (929), College of Charleston (931), and the University of Idaho (931) to round out the top five.
The win marks just the fourth time in the program’s 14-year history that the Buffs have played to a first place finish.
“Although the win came as a bit of a surprise, I am very proud of the team,” said head coach Anne Kelly. “We had a frustrating finish to the second round but they all kept fighting. Even though it felt like we weren’t having a very good day, they all hung in there and that was key. Everyone helped in the win and didn’t give up.”
Freshman Emily Childs led the way for Colorado, shooting 76-74-77—227. Childs was fourth overall after two rounds, but dropped back two places in the standings after the final 18 holes to finish sixth individually. Childs was just 2-over on the front nine, but she was never able to gain the momentum that she needed to match her second round score and make any significant movement in the standings.
Childs, just six strokes out of the lead, managed to record her third top-10 finish of the season.
“I didn’t play my best in this tournament, but I was able to keep it together and I am happy that I made the top-10,” said Childs. “The greens were very firm and fast and you couldn’t really land second shots because they would roll right off. It was also really windy, so the combination of a lot of these things made this course a lot more difficult.”
The Texas Tech's women golf team ended the fall season in impressive fashion, as Megan Dowdy's five-over 221 placed her in a tie for first with Iowa State's Victoria Stefansen and propelled the Lady Raiders to second place in the Challenge at Wolfdancer.
Dowdy was in 10th place after the first day of competition at seven-over. She shot a one-over over the last 23 holes to finish as a co-medalist for the first time as a Lady Raider. It is the first individual medalist for the Lady Raiders since Kim Kolb won in 2004.
Fellow CU freshman Emily Talley finished in a tie for 11th place after turning in a 75-78-77—230 scorecard. Talley wrapped up the fall portion of the season with three top-10 finishes and was just one stroke away from doing so today.
Junior Dominique Pytlewski matched her second round score of 68 in round three, staying right around the top-25 both days. Pytewski finished in a tie for 24th place after shooting 79-78-78—235 on the challenging Wolfdancer golf course.
Stephanie Simich (77-86-80—243) and Christine Kim (85-83-76—244) rounded out the scoring for the Buffaloes. Kim’s third round proved to be a team-low for Colorado in the final round of play. After a pair of scores in the 80’s, Kim turned things around in round three, improving drastically on the front nine and closing out her final round with a birdie on the 18th hole.
“Christine settled in and played very well in the last round which was a big key for us,” said Kelly. “Her round was a huge factor in the win.”