April 18, 2005

GERMANTOWN, Tenn. - Sophomore Alison Walshe shot a one-over par 73 and the Green Wave carded a plus-10 298 as the Tulane University women's golf team finished day one of the 2005 Conference USA Championship tied for second Monday at the par-27, 6,178-yard Germantown Country Club.

The Green Wave, who won the conference title last season, completed the first of three rounds tied with USF (298) and trail TCU by just four strokes (294). The 10-team field returns to action for round two on Tuesday before completing the championship on Wednesday.

"This is a golf course that is tight, and considering one of our strengths is the ability to drive the ball so well, it's a little short," head coach Sue Bower said. "It's not one that you look at and say, `advantage Tulane.' It's more of a ball-placement course, and you have to give credit to TCU for putting the ball where they needed to put it today. We made a few mistakes today, but nothing that is not correctable."

"TCU came out firing, and the big statistical difference was how we played the par fives - they played the par fives eight-under par, and we played them plus-one. We may have to retool our game plan off the tee a little bit, but we played well and are in a good place after round one. Four shots in one round of women's golf can turn around in the matter of 20 minutes at the start of the next round. I feel confident in our team over a three-day tournament, and I expect us to play well the rest of way."

Walshe was one of three Tulane players to finish the day in the Top 10 as junior Liliana Alvarez and sophomore Mary Ellen Jacobs were one stroke back with two-over par 74s to complete the day tied for seventh. Senior Lindsay Hulwick was next for the Green Wave with a five-over par 77 to come into the clubhouse tied for 16th, and fellow senior Alexis Wooster rounded out the Tulane scorers with an 81 to stand tied for 32nd.

Fernanda Rivera leads the field with a two-under par 70, and holds a one-stroke lead over day-one runner-up Stacey Bierber of TCU. Louisville's Adrienne White is next with an even-par 72, while Walshe, Christina Jones of USF and Elin Emanuelsson of TCU follow with 73s.

The winner of the 2005 C-USA Championship receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals, which begin on May 5 in one of three regional locations.

Team Scores: 1. TCU 294 (+6); T2. Tulane, USF 298 (+10); 4. Southern Mississippi 309 (+21); 5. Memphis 311 (+23); 6. East Carolina 313 (+25); 7. Louisville 319 (+31); 8. UAB 321 (+33); 9. Cincinnati 332 (+44); 10. Saint Louis 358 (+70).

Top Individual Scores: 1. Fernanda Rivera (USF) 70 (-2); 2. Stacey Bieber (TCU) 71 (-1); 3. Adrienne White (Louisville) 72 (E); T4. Alison Walshe (Tulane), Christina Jones (USF), Elin Emanuelsson (TCU) 73 (+1).

Tulane Individual Scorers: T4. Alison Walshe 73 (+1); T7. Liliana Alvarez, Mary Ellen Jacobs 74 (+2); T16. Lindsay Hulwick 77 (+5); T32. Alexis Wooster 81 (+9).