Woodbury, Minn.—Birthdays and birdies highlighted the first two rounds as the San José State women's golf team finished day one in first place at the Minnesota Invitational after shooing a seven-under 569 at the par-72 Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury, Minn.
IT'S HER BIRTHDAY
Freshman Natasha Andrea Oon made her first two collegiate rounds played memorable ones on her 17th birthday. She recorded the best first collegiate round by a Spartan in school history and ended the first day tied for first at seven-under 137. Oon started the day by shooting a five-under 67, during a round in which she made six birdies, 11 pars and only one bogey. After starting the round par-birdie-bogey, Oon made birdies on #7, #10, #12, #16, and #18, and pars on the other holes.
She continued her steady play in the second round, making birdies on #2 and #9 and pars on the other seven holes on the front nine. On the back nine, Oon ran into a little trouble on holes 10-14, making three bogeys and two birdies, but ended the day strong by making three pars and a birdie for a two-under 70.
"I had very good energy today, and my coaches helped me stay relaxed and gave me good advice today," said Oon. "I got help from Dana (Dormann) with my putting, and that helped me today. I just went up there and putted and had the confidence to make them and not worry. I am very happy with my first and second rounds and just hope for the best tomorrow."
BIRDIES
San José State started the day by shooting a six-under 282 in the first round, making 17 birdies during the round and had a one-shot lead over Virginia Tech. The Spartans then shot a one-under 287 in round two with 18 birdies make and has a one-shot lead over East Carolina. All three teams played with each other on Monday and will do the same on Tuesday.
San José State leads the field with 35 birdies made. Oon is second in the field with 11 birdies made, followed by Alexandra Cooper with nine made.
THREE SPARTANS IN TOP-20
Along with Oon who is tied for first, two other Spartans are in the top-20 after the first two rounds. Cooper is tied for 10th at one-under 143, while Abgeail Arevalo is tied for 16th at one-over 145. Cooper started the day by shooting a three-under 69, making four birdies, one bogey and 13 pars in the first round. She then shot a two-over 74 in round two with five birdies.
Arevalo shot a 74 in the first round, making only two birdies but recording 13 pars. In the second round, she made three birdies, two bogeys and 13 pars.
Franziska Friedrich is tied for 21st at two-over 146. She shot even-par 72 in the first round, with four birdies, four bogeys and 10 pars. She then made two birdies, four bogeys and 12 pars in shooting a two-over 74 in round two.
Samantha Bruce made her Spartan debut on Monday, shooting a five-over 149. She started the day with a five-over 77, making just one birdie and11 pars in the first round. However, she rebounded in the second round with an even-par 72, making three birdies and 12 pars.
"We were really focused on our targets and making putts today," said first-year head coach Dana Dormann. "Natasha had a great day on her birthday, and Alex had a great first round. We were pretty aggressive today with our drives, and they knew they could get up-and-down with their short games. We need to continue our same focus tomorrow and had a good short game."
Final round action begins Tuesday morning with a shot gun start at 9:15 a.m. CT/7:15 a.m. PT. Follow live scoring at http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=16428
Minnesota Invitational
Prestwick Golf Club
Par 72, 6,479 yards
Team Standings (after two rounds)
1. San José State 282-287-569 -7
2. East Carolina 288-282-570 -6
3. Virginia Tech 283-290-573 -3
4. Kentucky 294-286-580 +4
4. Middle Tennessee 283-297-580 +4
6. Louisville 292-290-582 +6
7. Notre Dame 292-295-587 +11
8. Oklahoma 290-298-588 +12
9. Missouri 295-294-589 +13
9. North Texas 300-289-589 +13
11. Kansas 297-295-592 +16
12. San Francisco 296-297-593 +17
13. Rutgers 297-300-597 +21
14. South Dakota State 298-300-598 +22
15. Minnesota 308-294-602 +26
Individual Results
1. Lauren Cox, North Texas 69-68-137 -7
1. Natasha Andrea Oon, San José State 67-70-137 -7
3. Emily Mahar, Virginia Tech 70-71-141 -3
3. Grace Kellar, Minnesota 73-68-141 -3
3. Jessica Spicer, Virginia Tech 70-71-141 -3
San José State Results
1. Natasha Andrea Oon 67-70-137 -7
10. Alexandra Cooper 69-74-143 -1
16. Abegail Arevalo 74-71-145 +1
21. Franziska Friedrich 72-74-146 +2
45. Samantha Bruce 77-72-149 +5
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