Strong Second Round Propels MSU up Standings at Bobcat Desert Invitational

Monday, April 10

Goodyear, AZ

8:45 a.m. MT

Montana State University

Bobcat Desert Invitational

Delaney Elliott

Photo by: MSU Sports Information

Strong Second Round Propels MSU up Standings at Bobcat Desert Invitational

4/10/2017 8:36:00 PM | Women's Golf

Day 1 Results (4/10/17)

Two freshman lead the Bobcats in consecutive rounds to open the MSU hosted tournament in Goodyear, Ariz.

By: Andrew Pedersen

GOODYEAR, Ariz. – Montana State women's golf rebounded from a frustrating first round with a solid second round to move into a tie for eighth following the first day of the Bobcat Desert Invitational Monday, April 10, at the Golf Club of Estrella.

The Bobcats had the biggest jump among the 14-team field by moving up four spots from 12th by shooting a second-round 303 after its opening round of 321. MSU's 624 strokes tied it with Utah Valley heading into the final round of play. The two teams sit four back behind seventh-place McNeese State and two ahead of Weber State.

Cal Poly sits atop the team standings with a team score of 2-over-par (581) with Portland State (599) and Eastern Washington (600) battling for second place.

"I'm happy with our second round and our ability to bounce back and pick up a few strokes," Montana State head coach Brittany Basye said. "We've got to learn how to grind it out better. When the wheels start coming off, we've got to learn how to put them back on until the last putt drops."

Freshman Delaney Elliott kept Montana State in the mix with her 3-over 75 in the first round and wrapped up the first 36 holes by firing a total 9-over 153. She is tied for 24th overall.

Freshman Kelly Hooper came off a rough first round with a strong second round, earning the best individual score for the Bobcats on the day with her even-par 72 in the second set of 18 holes. She sits in a tie for 37th, one spot behind fellow Bobcat Janelle Reali. The lone MSU senior is in 36th with a 13-over 157 (81-76).

Completing the Bobcat lineup is junior Jaylee Tait and freshman Coral Schulz. Tait is tied for 43rd at 160 strokes and Schulz is tied for 52nd at 162.

Cal Poly holds the top two spots on the individual leaderboard. Sophie Bergland is in first with a 2-over 142 and is followed by Desiree Gillaspy at 1-over 143. They are followed by Eastern Washington's Kirsten Ishikawa who shot an even-par 144.

"Delaney played pretty consistent," Basye said. "She had it going in the first round, kind of lost a little bit but got back on track which was good to see. Kelly turned it around in the second round, Janelle played fairly consistent and Coral did as well. We just need to get Jaylee going again."

The MSU-hosted tournament comes to an end with the third and final round beginning with an 8:45 a.m. MDT shotgun start on Tuesday. It'll wrap up the Bobcats' regular season with their next meet scheduled being the Big Sky Conference Championship in Boulder City, Nev.

"I'd like to see us play with better consistency," Basye said. "They've got to trust their swings. At times it's going to be long, it's going to be hot out, but they've got to dig deep and they have to figure out how to make that work. We've practiced and worked hard the last couple of months and we have to keep moving forward, because in a couple weeks we have conference and that's where we have to shine."