Oct. 13, 2014 AUSTIN, Texas (SMU) - Strong winds and rain wreaked havoc on the second day of the Betsy Rawls Invitational for the SMU women's golf team Monday. Despite the turbulent weather, the Mustangs remained in second place of the 15-team field at the University of Texas Golf Club.
"We decided as a team before the round that we were going to have the best attitude of any of the players," head coach Jeanne Sutherland said. "At times you just had to laugh out there. It is hard to shoot well with the weather. The course was setup tough and it was challenging. However we fought and battled and we are in a very good position for tomorrow."
The harsh conditions saw the scores across the leaderboard well over-par. Nonetheless SMU carded a team score of 313 (+25). Every team but Miami (+18) shot rounds at least 20-over par. SMU is tied with Baylor for second. The Mustangs and Bears both trail UNLV by a stroke. Tulane is in fourth at 29-over.
"We had to remain mentally tough," Sutherland said. "It can frustrate you that you have little control of the ball. It was hard for the players but we just accepted it and moved on. It was what it was."
Alexandra Rossi and Jenny Haglund maintained their top 10 standing for individuals. Rossi, coming off a career round a day ago, shot 6-over 78 and sits at even-par for the tournament. She is in sole possession of third place and is four strokes off the leader Hayley Davis of Baylor.
Haglund also posted a 6-over 78. She is tied in eighth place at 4-over with Kailey Walsh of Miami and Emma Henrikson of San Diego State.
Like Rossi and Haglund, Jennifer Park turned in a score of 78. The senior shot five-over on the front nine but steadied out her round with eight straight pars to end the afternoon. At 10-over, she is in a four-way tie for 26th.
"Jennifer came up really big down the stretch," Sutherland said. "The pars she made were really important for us. I'm proud of how resilient she was and fought through everything."
Lindsey McCurdy shot a 79 in her round and is at 9-over for the event. She is in a seven-way tie for 19th for individuals. Rounding out the team score for SMU was Katie Page. She finished three strokes better than her first round at 81.
Competing as an individual, Alex Celli turned in a round of 89.
The Betsy Rawls Invitational concludes Tuesday where SMU will look to capture its second tournament of the year.
"We are playing to win," Sutherland said. "There will be wind tomorrow and the course won't be easy. This group will battle and it should be an exciting final round."
