Falcons Sixth After First Round At Stone Ridge

Saturday, April 16

Bowling Green, Ohio

All Day

Bowling Green State University

Falcon Invitational

April 17, 2011 | Women's Golf

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communications Intern

TEAM RESULTS (w/ PLAYERS) (.pdf)
PLAYER STANDINGS (.pdf)
TOP-20 LEADERBOARD (.pdf)
COURSE STATS (.pdf)

PHOTO GALLERY

By day, the Bowling Green State University women's golf team showed their toughness by grinding out a sixth place finish despite rain, wind and cold during the first round of the team's annual home tournament at Stone Ridge Golf Club. By night, the Falcons reflected on history as the team permanently honored an important part of the program's rich past.

Renamed for former BGSU head coach Dolores Black at a ceremonial banquet on Saturday night (April 16), the 2011 Dolores Black Falcon Invitational was played in difficult conditions, but that did not stop the Falcons from keeping themselves in contention for a second win in their home tournament in the last four years.

The team combined for a total of 335 on Saturday. They lead seventh-place Ohio by four strokes and eighth-place Dayton by nine. The Falcons trail third-place Youngstown State by only four strokes.

Western Michigan leads the tournament with a total of 316, while Akron is one shot back at 317. The teams lead BGSU by 19 and 18 strokes, respectively. However, the volatility of the course and the expected heavy winds for Sunday mean that no lead is safe.

To illustrate, consider that six of the course's 18 holes played an average of at least one stroke over par on Saturday. The course's very first hole was the worst -- players averaged 5.42 strokes on the par-four starter. The third hole, also a par-four, was nearly as bad, as players averaged 5.26 strokes there.

Nobody scored better than a birdie on any hole; in fact, only 32 birdies were earned in the entire round. Only the fourth hole, a par-five over 490 yards, saw more than three birdies. Further, four different stops on the course did not have a single birdie for the entire round -- the second, third, 14th and 17th holes. In comparison, there were 87 instances of a triple-bogey or worse during the round -- nearly three times the number of birdies.

Bowling Green's scores for the five team members were very consistent, with each of the players scoring between an 83 and an 86. Bailey Arnold and Amy Ruthenberg each led the way with a first-round 83. They are each tied for 16th, just four strokes out of the top five.

Marisa Glew shot even 42s over the front and back nine for a total of 84 and a tie for 22nd place. Meanwhile, freshman Kelsey Benson played the back-half of the course well, finishing those nine holes ini just 40 strokes. She also has a solid chance for a top-20 finish, as she's currently perched in a tie for 28th.

Marisa's twin sister and fellow senior co-captain, Lauren Glew, is one stroke behind Benson and tied for 36th with an 86.

The other two Falcons, Jen Blanchard and Paula DiFrancesco, played as individuals. Blanchard tied Benson for 28th place and matched Benson's 40 on the back half of the Stone Ridge course. DiFrancesco finished the day's play by carding a 91.

The final 18 holes of the tournament will be played on Sunday. Play begins at 9:00 a.m. with staggered tee times from the first and tenth holes.

Paula DiFrancesco and Jen Blanchard each tee off at 9:09 a.m.; Paula from the first tee and Jen from the tenth. The Falcons' five-member team begins at the first hole, starting with Lauren Glew at 9:27 a.m. and followed by Kelsey Benson nine minutes later.

At 9:45 a.m., Marisa Glew begins her round. Amy Ruthenberg (9:54 a.m.) and Bailey Arnold (10:05 a.m.) finish the tee times for BGSU.

Below is a brief interview with Falcon head coach Stephanie Young after completion of the first round. You can catch more video and complete coverage of the ceremonial banquet honoring Coach Dolores Black at BGSUFalcons.com.