March 9, 2008
PINEHURST, N.C. -
Katie Trotter turned the famed layout at Pinehurst No. 8 with a back-nine 38 to finish with a 78 and lead University of Maryland finishers Sunday in the first round of the Pinehurst Challenge women's golf tournament being hosted by the College of Charleston.
Trotter, a Terrapin senior from Pittsburgh, Pa., was tied for 20th after the opening round. As a team, Maryland was tied for 11th overall with a first-round total of 323. Maryland was only six shots out of sixth place, being held by the host Cougars.
East Tennessee State fired a team score of 307 to take the first-round lead, four shots ahead of Chattanooga and six strokes better than UNC Greensboro and East Carolina.
Behind Trotter, the rest of the Terrapins' lineup had a balanced opening round, as two shots separated the other four players. Lara Peffley opened with an 81 and was tied for 39th, with Kelly Calkin and Kerri Connolly each tying for 54th at 82. Hilary Lawson was tied for 65th at 83.
The course was incredibly difficult in the opening round, as the field's scoring average on Sunday was 82.4.
Steffi Kirchmayr of Charleston and Christine Wolf of Chattanooga each shot 1-over-par 73s to take the individual lead into Monday's second round. They led by two shots over five players, including a pair of golfers from team-leader East Tennessee State.
Monday's second round will be a shotgun start early in the afternoon. The 54-hole event finishes Tuesday.
TEAM SCORES
1. East Tennessee State 307; 2. Chattanooga 311; T3. UNC Greensboro 313; T3. East Carolina 313; 5. Boise State 314; 6. College of Charleston 317; 7. Georgia State 318; 8. South Florida 319; 9. Oregon State 321; 10. Texas State 322; T11. MARYLAND 323; T11. Augusta State 323; 13. Penn State 324; 14. Coastal Carolina 326; T15. Western Carolina 327; T15. Stetson 327; T15. James Madison 327; 18. Bucknell 328; 19. Memphis 330; T20. Jacksonville State 331; T20. Marshall 331.
MARYLAND SCORES
T20. Katie Trotter 40-38--78; T39. Lara Peffley 41-40--81; T54. Kelly Calkin 41-41--82; T54. Kerri Connolly 41-41--82; T65. Hilary Lawson 41-42--83.
