Women's golf battles weather to lead at Wildcat Invitational
<p>The No. 1 Arizona State women's golf shrugged off a cold, rainy and windy day in Tucson, Ariz., and finished round one of the Wildcat Invitational on top of the leaderboard. The Sun Devils carded a 6-over 290 on the par-71, 6,166-yard Arizona National Golf Club to finish three shots ahead of Stanford and four shots ahead of host Arizona. Taylor Karle of Pepperdine is the individual leader with 3-under 68. Weather caused the second round to be cancelled, making the tournament 36 holes as opposed to 54. The teams will tee off in a shotgun start tomorrow beginning at 8 a.m.</p><separator></separator><p>"This is the day that most people would like to be by fireplace, drinking a cup of coffee," said eighth year head coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/luellen_melissa00.html">… Luellen</a>. "The Sun Devils were out battling the elements and leading the tournament. We battled hard and played great."</p><separator></separator><p>Three Sun Devils finished the round in the top 10. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/ciganda_carlota00.html">… Ciganda</a> rebounded from a tough Northrop Grumman tournament to finish the round tied for fourth. The sophomore All-American shot an even 71. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/sweeney_jaclyn01.html">J… Sweeney</a> also put fourth a strong round, carding 1-over 72 to tie for sixth place. Freshman <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/johnson_jennifer00.html"… Johnson</a> returned to form as she fired off a 2-over 73 in the first round and is tied for 10th.</p><separator></separator><p><a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/murcia_juliana00.html">J… Murcia</a> finished the first round tied for 13th after carding 3-over 74. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/molinaro_giulia00.html">… Molinaro</a>, who had a stellar tournament in Palos Verdes, struggled in the opening round finishing 12-over 83. The Sun Devils also traveled <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/w-golf/mtt/eruera_larissa00.html">L… Eruera</a> as an individual. After opening the front nine strong, she struggled on the back nine and finished 8-over 79.</p><separator></separator><p>The team will finish the tournament Tuesday. They are paired with Stanford and Arizona.</p>