STILLWATER, Okla. – With a 17-shot improvement, No. 10 Arizona State women's golf moved up a place on day two of the 2018 NCAA Women's Golf Championships at Karsten Creek Golf Club.
"We played today the way we should've played yesterday," said head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. "We still left a lot of shots out there and made some mental errors but there were also some bright spots."
Senior Roberta Liti cut 10 strokes off between day one and day two, shooting a one-under 71 on Saturday to lead ASU.
Just behind Liti, freshman Raquel Olmos and sophomore Olivia Mehaffey each shot a 2-over 74.
"Roberta [Liti] had a really good round, and I'm very proud of her. Raquel [Olmos] birdied the last hole, Madison [Kerley] hung in there, Olivia [Mehaffey] was fighting back – they're all working really hard to play well, it's just that this golf course can mentally break you down if you allow it to."
Liti, Kerley, and Olmos all birdied hole 18 just before making the turn as Liti birdied four of nine holes on the back nine. Olmos birdied three of four holes between holes 18 and three (started on 10).
With a cut to the top 15 following Sunday's third round, the Sun Devils are just four strokes away from a current two-way tie for 14th place.
"We have to continue to be mentally tougher and we have another day to make top 15 and if we do that, another day to make top eight. If we can improve tomorrow the way we improved today, we've got a shot at it."
Arizona State will once again have the late tee times on Sunday, off hole one between 1:21-2:05 pm CT (11:21 am-12:05 pm PT), paired with Auburn and Oklahoma.
"We played today the way we should've played yesterday," said head coach Missy Farr-Kaye. "We still left a lot of shots out there and made some mental errors but there were also some bright spots."
Senior Roberta Liti cut 10 strokes off between day one and day two, shooting a one-under 71 on Saturday to lead ASU.
Just behind Liti, freshman Raquel Olmos and sophomore Olivia Mehaffey each shot a 2-over 74.
"Roberta [Liti] had a really good round, and I'm very proud of her. Raquel [Olmos] birdied the last hole, Madison [Kerley] hung in there, Olivia [Mehaffey] was fighting back – they're all working really hard to play well, it's just that this golf course can mentally break you down if you allow it to."
Liti, Kerley, and Olmos all birdied hole 18 just before making the turn as Liti birdied four of nine holes on the back nine. Olmos birdied three of four holes between holes 18 and three (started on 10).
With a cut to the top 15 following Sunday's third round, the Sun Devils are just four strokes away from a current two-way tie for 14th place.
"We have to continue to be mentally tougher and we have another day to make top 15 and if we do that, another day to make top eight. If we can improve tomorrow the way we improved today, we've got a shot at it."
Arizona State will once again have the late tee times on Sunday, off hole one between 1:21-2:05 pm CT (11:21 am-12:05 pm PT), paired with Auburn and Oklahoma.