May 17, 2005

SUNRIVER, Ore. - Playing in its first-ever NCAA Women's Golf National Championship, Virginia is tied for 15th after the opening round of play at the Sunriver Resort on Tuesday.

Southern Cal holds a one-stroke lead over UCLA with a 287 (+3). UCLA is second with a 288 (+4). Auburn is third with a 290 (+6), while Pepperdine is fourth with a 291 (+7). The Cavaliers finished the day with a 304 (+20), tying Michigan State.

"I was overall pleased with our play today," Virginia head coach Jan Mann said. "We had a couple of holes where we got into trouble. We're ready to go there again tomorrow."

Individually, Pepperdine's Carolina Llano leads the field of 126 golfers with a two-under 69. Southern Cal's Dewi Schreefel follows by one stroke with a one-under 70. Nine players are tied for third with an even 71 each.

Sophomore Leah Wigger (Louisville, Ky.) paced UVa with a 73 (+2) to tie for 21st. Freshman Lauren Mielbrecht (Gulf Stream, Fla.) shot a 76 (+5), while sophomore Sally Shonk (Noblesville, Ind.) fired a 77(+6). Sophomore Lindsay Robinson (Huntington, W.V.) followed by one stroke with a 78 (+7). Sophomore Rachel Smith (Powell, Tenn.) rounded out the UVa scoring with an 80 (+9).

"The weather was really cold," Mann added. "There was sleet in the morning. It was pretty brutal but got better as the day went on. Rain and cold are predicted for tomorrow, but the girls are ready to play."

The second round of the NCAA Women's Golf National Championship tees off at 9 a.m. PDT a.m. on Wednesday, May 18 at the par-71 Sunriver Resort. UVa's first tee time is set for 1:20 p.m. PDT.

1.	Southern Cal			287 (+3)
2.	UCLA				288 (+4)
3.	Auburn				290 (+6)
4.	Pepperdine			291 (+7)
5.	Duke				292 (+8)
	Washington			292 (+8)
7.	California			295 (+11)
8.	Arkansas			296 (+12)
9.	Oklahoma State			298 (+14)
10.	Stanford			300 (+16)
	Tennessee			300 (+16)
12.	Florida				301 (+17)
	Ohio State			301 (+17)
14.	Arizona State			303 (+19)
15.	Michigan State			304 (+20)
	Virginia			304 (+20)
17.	Brigham Young			305 (+21)
	Tulane				305 (+21)
20.	Missouri			307 (+23)
	Furman				307 (+23)
	Tulsa				307 (+23)
23.	Purdue				309 (+25)
24.	UC Irvine			311 (+27)
TOP INDIVIDUALS
1.	Carolina Llano, Pepperdine	69 (-2)
2.	Dewi Schreefel, USC		70 (-1)
3.	Sara Brown, MSU			71 (E)
	Annie Cochran, UCLA		71 (E)
	Wendra Liang, Stanford		71 (E)
	Charlotte Mayorkas, UCLA	71 (E)
	Amanda McCurdy, Arkansas	71 (E)
	Nicole Melton, Texas A&M	71 (E)
	Brooke Shelton, LSU		71 (E)
	Karin Sjodin, Okla. State	71 (E)
	Marci Turner, Tennessee		71 (E)
VIRGINIA  PLAYERS
t21.	Leah Wigger			73 (+2)
t57.	Lauren Mielbrecht 		76 (+5)
t74.	Rachel Smith 			77 (+6)
t89.	Lindsay Robinson 		78 (+7)
t113.	Sally Shonk 			80 (+9)