Houston in Fourth after First Day in Spring Opener

Monday, February 17

English Turn Country Club – New Orleans, La.

University of Houston

Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship

Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate First-Day recap, Ariana Saenz

2/17/2020 8:32:00 PM | Women's Golf

Junior Ariana Saenz tied for fifth at 143 at Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship

Scoring \| Results \| Pairings \| Schedule

Team		Rounds				Score
		1	2	3	F
1.	#10 Florida	288	284		572	-12
2.	NC State	278	290		577	-7
3.	#32 Miami (Fla.)	293	288		581	-3
4.	#23 Houston	293	291		584	E
5.	#13 Michigan State	292	293		585	+1
6.	#47 Denver	294	293		587	+3
t7.	Tulsa	295	293		588	+4
t7.	SMU	300	288		588	+4
9.	North Texas	295	294		589	+5
10	Tulane	295	300		595	+11
11.	Southern Miss	302	297		599	+15
12.	South Alabama	306	300		606	+22
13.	Iowa	304	310		614	+30
14.	Colorado State	309	310		619	+35
15.	UAB	320	305		625	+41

HOUSTON LEADERS
		1	2	3	F
t5.	Ariana Saenz	70	73		143	-3
t20.	Maria Jose Martinez	74	72		146	E
t33.	Brooke McDougald	72	77		149	+3
t33.	Annie Kim (Ind.)	76	73		149	+3
t40.	Karen Fredgaard	77	73		150	+4
t47.	Amanda Elich	78	73		151	+5

OVERALL LEADERS
		1	2	3	F
1.	Mim Sangkapong NC State	68	71		139	-7
2.	Serena Shah SMU	69	71		140	-6
3.	Anna Backman Miami (Fla.)	70	71		141	-5
4.	Mary Weinstein Denver	71	71		142	-4
t5.	Ariana Saenz Houston	70	73		143	-3
t5.	#53 Addison Baggarly Florida	72	71		143	-3
t5.	#61 Paz Marfa Michigan State	70	73		143	-3
t5.	Marina Escobar Domingo Florida	72	71		143	-3

NEW ORLEANS – University of Houston junior Ariana Saenz stood in a tie for fifth with a score of 3-under 143 following the first day of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship at English Country Club on Monday.

Saenz, who is competing in her first season at Houston after transferring from Texas A&M, led the Cougars in the morning with a 3-under 70 on the 6,336-yard, par-73 course.

Starting her day off No. 5, the Porter, Texas, native made birdie on the 476-yard, par-5 sixth hole. After seven straight pars, she returned to even par with a bogey on No. 14, but fortunately, that would be the only blemish on her scorecard in the First Round.

Saenz drained back-to-back birdies on Nos. 17-18 and added another birdie on No. 3 to finish with a 70. She followed with a 73 in the afternoon session.

As a team, the 23^rd- ranked Cougars opened with a score of 293 and bettered that by two shots in the afternoon
No. 10 Florida held the first-day lead with a score of 12-under 572 to finish five strokes ahead of NC State. No. 32 Miami (Fla.) stood in third at 581) with No. 13 Michigan State (585), No. 47 Denver (587), Tulsa (588), SMU (588), North Texas (589) and Tulane (595) rounding out the Top 10.

NC State's Mim Sangkapong held the first-day lead at 139 to finish one shot ahead of SMU's Serena Shah. Miami (Fla.)'s Anna Backman was in third at 141.

The tournament was originally scheduled for 54 holes over three days, but rain forced the postponement of the first day.

Sophomore Maria Jose Martinez was tied for 20^th at 146, thanks to a 72 in the Second Round. After making birdie on the fifth hole to start her afternoon session, the Alvarado, Mexico, native overcame back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 11-12 with three birdies in a four-hole stretch from Nos. 15-18.

McDougald enjoyed a red number in the morning round with a 72. The Woodlands, Texas, native began her day off No. 8 and endured a bogey on No. 8. But like Saenz, McDougald would endure only one bogey in her first 18 holes.

Following seven straight pars, she made birdie on the par-4 first hole and closed the round with six straight pars to tie for 33^rd at 145.

Playing as an individual, sophomore Annie Kim was tied for 33^rd at 149, while freshman Karen Fredgaard was tied for 40^th at 150. Senior Amanda Elich was tied for 47^th at 151.

LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring from the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship by clicking here.

PAIRINGS
For Tuesday's Final Round, the Cougars will compete in groups with student-athletes from Michigan State and Denver.

Fredgaard begins at 8 a.m., Tuesday, off No. 4 with Saenz (first group off No. 5), Martinez (second group off No. 5), Elich (No. 6) and McDougald (first group off No. 7 following). Kim begins in the first group off No. 17.

Complete pairings can be found by clicking here.

UP NEXT
Following the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship, Houston plays host to the ICON Invitational on Feb. 24-25 on the Tournament Course at The Woodlands Country Club.

From there, the Cougars head west to compete at the Clover Cup on March 13-15 at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz.

JOIN the P.A.R. 4 CLUB
Fans are invited to join The P.A.R. 4 Club to support Houston Women's Golf. P.A.R. 4 Club members provide financial support directly to Houston Women's Golf for needs beyond the program's operating budget.

Fans who join the P.A.R. 4 Club can begin receiving benefits for as little as $100 annually.

To join the P.A.R. 4 Club, fans can email gchadwel@central.uh.edu. For more information about the P.A.R. 4 Club, levels of giving and benefits, fans can click here.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarWGolf on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarWGolf or on the team's Instagram page at UHCougarWGolf.