FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Getting its 2018-19 season officially underway, the Nevada women's golf team is in the hunt after day one of the Ptarmigan Ram Classic, hosted by fellow Mountain West member Colorado State.
"We had a few big holes today but also made quite a few birdies," said head coach
Kathleen Takaishi. "Chaithra played really well and overall I'm happy with how we played as a team and think we can make a move tomorrow."
The Wolf Pack combined for a team score of 296 during Monday's opening round and sits at 8-over par for the event with two rounds remaining. Nevada, which sits in second place after the first 18 holes, is in the hunt for its first tournament title since 2016 as it is just three shots behind tournament leader Boise State. The Pack also has a four-shot lead over Big Ten member Nebraska in the field of 13 teams.
For Nevada it was senior leadership that got the team into second place with
Chaithra Katamneni and
Kaitlin Collom leading the way. Katamneni got her senior season off to a hot start by posting the Pack's only under par round of the day with a 2-under 70. That puts her in sole possession of third place, one shot back of Janet Yeo of UC Irvine for second and two back of the individual leader Tara Finigan of Boise State. Katamneni avoided big numbers throughout her round and made five birdies, including three on the difficult back nine.
Collom was also able to avoid anything higher than bogey on her scorecard and recorded a 2-over round of 74. She enters day two in a tie for 16
th place in the 75-player field. Junior
Jenny Krause had an up and down first nine, making three birdies but also three double bogeys. She cleaned up her game though at the turn and played the rest of her round at 1-under to notch a 75 for the day. She is currently tied for 22
nd.
Making her collegiate debut this week, freshman
Victoria Gailey struggled a bit out of the gate, teeing off on the challenging back nine. She made four bogeys on the back side but had just two on the front and added a birdie to card a round of 77. Junior
Katy Rutherford rounds out the list of Pack golfers with a round of 78 on Monday and is tied for 41
st.
Nevada continues the Ptarmigan Ram Classic with the second round of action on Tuesday. Live scoring for the entire tournament is available on Golfstat.com.
Nevada Players
3.
Chaithra Katamneni – 70 (-2)
T16.
Kaitlin Collom – 74 (+2)
T22.
Jenny Krause – 75 (+3)
T34.
Victoria Gailey – 77 (+5)
T41.
Katy Rutherford – 78 (+6)
