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SPORTS
Bearcats lead Lady Herd Fall Classic
HURRICANE -- Cincinnati is two shots ahead of Southern Mississippi going into today's final round in the Lady Herd Fall Classic at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club.
The Cincinnati Bearcats posted a 307 in round one on a sunny, warm Monday in the two-day event hosted by the Marshall University women's golf team. Southern Miss came in at 309.
"The greens are what make this golf course tricky," Cincinnati coach Janet Carl said of Sleepy Hollow, which is playing 6,036 yards. "We talked about it. It's important to put yourself below the pins. You don't want to have those slick downhill putts. We have to focus on what we can do better."
"We started out so rough. I'm proud of the way the girls held it together," Southern Miss coach Julie Gallup said. "It was a grind."
Towson University and Ohio University are tied for third with 316. Host Marshall is fifth with 318.
The final round today begins at 9 a.m.
Cincinnati's Anna Camtell, a freshman from Halmstad, Sweden, and Virginia Espejo of Southern Miss, a sophomore from Madrid, Spain, both shot 1-over-par 73s to share the individual lead.
"I hit the ball solid," Camtell said. "Satisfied or not I don't know. Hit 16 greens and make only two birdies. I got the ball close. I got putts all over the hole, but they didn't drop."
"We can't make stupid mistakes tomorrow like we did today," Espejo said.
The individual leaders are among several international players in the 12-team field.
Camtell's home course is Halstad Golf Club, site of the 2007 Solheim Cup. The United States beat host Europe, 16-12.
"I'm OK with the distance," Camtell said about the travel between Ohio and her native land.
Bambee Dela Paz, who shot 77 for the Bearcats, is a freshman from the Phillipines. Kate Moore, who posted 80, is from Australia.
"I felt both freshmen (Camtell and Dela Paz) could be impact players," Carl said.
LPGA Tour star Annika Sorenstam is from Sweden, but Camtell said she favors Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson, Swedish stars on the European Tour, more.
"I admire the men," she said. "Don't forget Tiger Woods married a Swedish girl (Elin Nordegren)."
This is third fall event for Cincinnati and Southern Miss and second where they've been in the same field. The Bearcats were third in their UC Fall Classic and the Golden Eagles came in sixth. Each team has recorded one score under 300 in a tournament.
"Our goal is to win and shoot at least one round under 300," Carl said. "We had a workshop on goal setting. It's important to have different goals."
Espejo's big disappointment came on the par-5 second hole when she reached the green with a 5-iron, but took four putts and left with bogey. "Not a nice feeling," she said.
"She can move the ball," Gallup said. "She's able to hit a lot of shots women are not able to hit. The sky's the limit."
Rachel Halloran led Marshall with a 77. Maria Battaglia and Kristina Garrett each carded 80s. Molly Ginger had 81 and Larie Lynch an 84. She was medalist last year.
"I think we put too much presure on ourselves," Herd coach Meredith Knight Rowsey said. "We've got to relax."
