Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Cougar Classic
Deacons Open Season With 287 At Cougar Classic
9/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Sep 8, 2013
By Gary Petit, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWGolf)
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Led by junior Marissa Dodd's career-low 68, the Wake Forest women's golf team opened the Cougar Classic with a 1-under 287 on Sunday at the Yeamans Hall Club.
The Deacons are in a tie for fourth place after the opening round. Mississippi State fired a 6-under 282 and leads Clemson and South Carolina by three shots.
"It sure was fun to watch today," said Wake Forest head coach Dianne Dailey. "Everyone played solidly. Our ball striking and iron-play this year is much better than last year and it showed today. We hit the ball close all day and gave ourselves a lot of chances. We also worked a lot on our short games last year and for whatever reason, it just didn't come around. But with more work over the summer, we finally saw the rewards today."
This was the first under-par round for the Deacons since they fired a 4-under 284 in the opening round of the Lady Tar Heel Invitational on Oct. 7, 2011.
Dodd birdied her second hole of the day and made the turn at 1-under par. She made her only bogey of the day at No. 11 but rebounded with four birdies in the final seven holes to post a 4-under 68. That bested her previous career-low of 71 which she notched four times over the last two years.
Redshirt-freshman Elizabeth Doty posted a 1-under 71 in her first round as a Demon Deacon. She birdied all four par-5s and finished the round with a total of five birdies. Doty is tied for 10th heading into the second round.
"Marissa was striking the ball so well today and giving herself a lot of short putts for birdie," Dailey said. "Elizabeth played really steady all day. She was in the fairway, on the green and then made a birdie here and there. They provided a good one-two punch today."
Freshman Sierra Sims also played well in her first-career round, posting a 2-over 74. She is tied with teammate Allison Emrey who also carded an opening 74. Both players made two birdies and four bogeys.
Senior Olafia Kristinsdottir had a tough start to her round as she was 3-over par through the first five holes. But she righted the ship and played the final 13 holes at even par to card a 75. She is tied for 47th heading into Monday.
NC State's Brittany Marchand and Mississippi State's Ally McDonald are tied for the individual lead after posting opening round 66s. Dodd is alone in third place just two shots back.
The Deacs will start the second round at 9:30 a.m. off the first tee with LSU and host College of Charleston. Follow Golfstat.com for live scoring of the final two rounds.
Cougar ClassicYeamans Hall Clubcharleston, S.C.
Team Standings1. Mississippi State 282 (-6)2. South Carolina 285 (-3) Clemson 285 (-3)4. Wake Forest 287 (-1) NC State 287 (-1)6. Baylor 289 (+1) College of Charleston 289 (+1)8. Florida 291 (+3)9. Auburn 295 (+7) LSU 295 (+7)11. Furman 298 (+10) Wisconsin 298 (+10)13. Maryland 299 (+11) Penn State 299 (+11) Tennessee 299 (+11)16. Missouri 302 (+14)17. Coastal Carolina 303 (+15)18. Mississippi 305 (+17)19. UNCG 314 (+26)20. Charleston Southern 329 (+41)
Top-5 Individuals1. Brittany Marchand (NCSU) 66 (-6) Ally McDonald (MSU) 66 (-6)3. Marissa Dodd (WF) 68 (-4)4. Five players tied 69 (-3)
Wake Forest Individuals3. Marissa Dodd 68 (-4)10. Elizabeth Doty 71 (-1)38. Allison Emrey 74 (+2)38. Sierra Sims 74 (+2)47. Olafia Kristinsdottir 75 (+3)
Players Mentioned
