Connelly in third after NCAA first round

The UCF Women's Golf team may not have made the NCAA Women's Golf Championship, but that doesn't mean the Knights won't be represented in Owings Mills, Md.

UCF senior Stephanie Connelly was in a tie for third Tuesday after the first round.

Connelly, the lone Knight to qualify for the four-round tournament, had a rough start to her day, bogeying the first two holes of the par-72, 6,443-yard Caves Valley Golf Club.

And although she finished the front nine 2 over par, Connelly bounced back after the turn.
She shot even par or better on the first eight holes of the back nine, and only a bogey on 18 kept her from finishing under par for the round.

Her even-par 72 left her tied for third with Southern California's Jennifer Song, Wake Forest's Nannette Hill and Tennessee's Ginny Brown.

Connelly, who grew up about 35 miles from Owings Mills in Pasadena, Md., said it was nice to be close to her home.

"It's familiar, sure, because I've played here and played well here," Connelly said in a UCF release. "It's good to just be up North again. It's an adjustment the past couple of days because we really don't play any courses that are similar to this in college golf.

"The rough is much thicker, it's playing pretty long and it's longer than we usually play. The greens are much faster. It's championship golf. Regular season is tough, but this is definitely how a championship should be set up."

Connelly was one of UCF's best players throughout the season, especially during the spring. After the winter break, she was UCF's top finisher in three of the six tournaments and tied as the top Knight with May Tomimbang in another tournament.

She qualified for the championship with her second-place performance in the NCAA East Regional on May 7-9 in Gainesville.

Connelly teed off in the final six-person grouping Wednesday. She started her second round with Vanderbilt's Marina Alex, Oregon's Cathryn Bristow, Lousiville's Cindy LaCrosse, UC Davis' Alice Kim and Oklahoma's Kendell Dye at 2:10 p.m. Wednesday.

Results were not available at press time.