May 21, 2002
AUBURN, Wash. - Led by junior Blair O'Neal, the Arizona State women's golf team shot a 13-over par 301 Tuesday and is tied for 13th after the first round of the NCAA Championships, being held May 21-24 at the par 72, 6,273-yard Washington National Golf Club.
The Sun Devils are tied for 13th place with Michigan and Pepperdine but stand just three strokes out of the top four. Arizona leads the tournament after shooting a three-under par 285 in the first round. Duke and Georgia are tied for second after carding six-over 294s on Tuesday, while Auburn, California, Florida, South Carolina and Wake Forest are all tied for fourth at 298 after Tuesday's first round.
O'Neal led the Sun Devils individually, carding an even-par 72 Tuesday. O'Neal, who had five birdies in her opening round, is tied for 14th after the first round, while sophomore Jimin Kang, a native of Edmonds, Wash., shot a one-over 73 and is tied for 19th after the first round. Junior Ga?lle Truet is tied for 70th with a five-over 77 on Tuesday, while junior Melanie Hunt (79) and freshman Erin Tone (80) are tied for 94th and 106th, respectively, after Tuesday's first round.
Duke's Virada Nirapathpongporn is the individual leader after the first round, shooting a four-under 68 on Tuesday and holding a one-stroke lead over Georgia's Summer Sirmons.
The Sun Devils, the sixth-seeded team from the West Regional, tee off at 1 p.m. from the No. 10 tee on Wednesday afternoon, while tee times for the final two rounds on Thursday and Friday will be determined by results. Live, hole-by-hole scoring for the 2002 NCAA Championships is available at www.golfstat.com.
Arizona State is making its 11th consecutive NCAA Championships appearance, the third-longest active streak in the country, while the six-time NCAA champion Sun Devils are looking for their 16th top 10 finish in 21 NCAA appearances.
NCAA West Regional - First Round Results May 21-24, 2002 - Washington National Golf Club - Auburn, Wash.
1. Arizona 285 2. Duke 294 Georgia 294 4. Auburn 298 California 298 Florida 298 South Carolina 298 Wake Forest 298 9. Ohio State 299 Oklahoma 299 Oklahoma State 299 Stanford 299 13. Arizona State 301 Michigan 301 Pepperdine 301 16. Tulsa 302 Washington 302 18. Purdue 304 19. Michigan State 305 Texas 305 21. USC 307 22. Vanderbilt 311 23. South Florida 313 24. UCLA 314