March 2, 2010
CANYON COUNTRY, Calif. - The Arizona State women's golf team shot the round low of the day to jump up to fourth place at the Bruin/Wave Invitational. Held at the par 72, 6,282-yard Robinson Ranch Golf Club, the Sun Devils have shot 6-over 294 over the first two rounds. The team is six shots behind leader UCLA.
"Today was a much better day, despite harder conditions, the Sun Devils played better," said eighth year head coach Melissa Luellen. "We're moving up the list and closing down the gap on the field."
Freshman Jennifer Johnson fired off 3-under 69 in the second round. Johnson, who will compete as an amateur exemption at the Kraft Nabisco Championship next month, knocked in six birdies and was 6-under through the 12th hole. She is currently 1-under 143 (74-69). With three birdies on the day, sophomore All-American Carlota Ciganda put together a solid round of 1-under 71. She is tied with Johnson for fifth at 1-under 143 (72-71).
"Jen had a very good day, she made six birdies. I was a bit disappointed to see her go bogey-bogey finish. To make six birdies in windy conditions, I think she played fantastic," said Luellen. "Carlota played really solid. She made a lot of putts and missed a couple, but that's golf."
Searching for her second top-20 finish of 2010, Giulia Molinaro has shot 3-over 147 (73-74) in the two rounds. The junior had birdies on the par-3 Hole 3 and the par-4 Hole 17. Jaclyn Sweeney overcame a tough start to finish the round 2-over 74. She is currently 5-over 149 (75-74). With a birdie on Hole 18 and one on Hole 8, Juliana Murcia shot a 3-over 75 in the second round to finish 3-over 152 (77-75).
"It will be a fun day tomorrow," said Luellen. "We are knocking on the door and I can assure that our senior July is going to want her score to count tomorrow."
The Sun Devils will conclude the Bruin/Wave Invitational tomorrow. With a tee-time of 8:24, they will be paired with Arizona and Stanford.