All Five Lopers Shoot Between a 73-76
Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney women's golf team had nine birdies and 28 pars on the back nine to retain its lead at the 2023 NCAA Central Regional Tuesday in Larchwood, Ia. The nine-team, 54-hole event is being held at the par 72 (6,095 yards) The Falls at Grand Falls Casino. The top three squads, and the top two individuals not on one of those teams, advance to the NCAA Championships next week (May 16-20) in St. Louis.
After a school-record 289 on Monday, the Lopers got off to a bit of a slow start in the morning as it was a bit crisp and windy. UNK briefly lost its five-stroke lead but, as the skies brightened, regained it thanks to a solid back nine. The 298 ties for the eighth-best tally in school-history with the overall score (587) ahead of 4th-ranked Harding (591), 41st-ranked Augustana (594), 21st-ranked Central Missouri (601) and 43rd-ranked Rogers State (602). Kansas junior Allison Comer is in fourth place with a 2-over 146 (70-76) as she had eight pars and a birdie on the back nine. Next, Kansas sophomore Brooke King is tied for fifth (147; 72-75) on the strength of seven pars and a birdie over the final nine holes. Finally, Arizona senior Paige Lucero (72-76) and Puerto Rico super senior Faviola Gonzalez (75-73) are both tied for eighth. Gonzalez had two birdies on both the front and back nine as well as nine pars. Coming off her career-best round, Lucero carded three birdies and four pars on the back nine. Northwest Missouri's Paige Hoffman (3-under 141) remains in the lead with two others under par as well. Also for UNK, Colombian sophomore Juliana Botero Molina had a countable 74 today as she carded four birdies and eight pars. She is tied for 22nd place (151; 77-74). The final round begins Wednesday morning with overcast skies in the forecast. No UNK squad has ever reached the NCAA Championships but four different individuals have qualified, the last being Sara Wissing (Hastings) in 2010.
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