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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
MountainView Collegiate
Two Rebels in Top 20 After Round 1 in Arizona
3/10/2017 | Women's Golf
TUCSON, Ariz. - The Ole Miss women's golf team stands in eighth on the MountainView Collegiate Invitational leaderboard after firing a 296 in the first round of play at MountainView Golf Club.
The Rebels opened the day on the back nine and climbed as high as second after a tremendous start to the tournament. However, the front nine was not as kind-Ole Miss went 1-over par on the back but 7-over on the front en route to an 8-over-par day, which left head coach Kory Henkes hopeful for what her team can do over the next two days.
"We saw a lot of great things out of the team today. We have the physical talent to keep up with some of the best teams in the country, but unfortunately, we are making too many mental mistakes," Henkes said. "During the last nine holes, we counted seven mental errors that cost us seven strokes. These mistakes are the difference in being in eighth place and second today. If we are a team who wants to play in the NCAA postseason, then we have to improve upon our mental game."
Toennessen and Harris Pacing the Rebels
Senior Maria Toennessen and junior Katy Harris came out with the top scores for the Rebels, each at 1-over after 18 holes. Harris was 2-under after 11 holes but encountered some trouble as she navigated the front nine. Still, the St. Simons Island, Georgia native finished birdie-par-par to close up at 73.
Toennessen was steady all day, going even par on the back nine to start. The Grimstad, Norway native picked up two bogies down the stretch but birdied her final hole to finish tied with Harris and others for 17th.
"It was great to finish my day with a birdie," Toennessen said. "My game felt good today, very stable. I hit a lot of fairways and greens and gave myself many birdie opportunities. I've been struggling lately with my ball striking, but today I finally hit the ball where I wanted, and it felt great."
Sophomore Kie Purdom and senior Madisen Bentley also had solid opening rounds for Ole Miss. Purdom was on a roll, playing to even par through 14 holes, but she picked up two extra strokes on the fifth and sixth holes to close out at 3-over.
The story was similar for Bentley, who was even through 16 before a triple-bogey on her second-to-last hole, a tough finish to an otherwise stellar day.
"I think all of us know we can score lower than what we did today," Toennessen said, "so that's what we'll try and do to tomorrow."
Team Standings
1. Arizona: 278--278
2. New Mexico State: 289--289
3. UNLV: 290--290
4. Houston: 291--291
T5. Missouri: 292--292
T5. Kansas State: 292--292
7. Central Arkansas: 294--294
8. Ole Miss: 296--296
9. Oklahoma: 299--299
T10. Middle Tennessee State: 307--307
T10. North Texas: 307--307
12. Colorado State: 310--310
13. Redlands CC: 318--318
Ole Miss Players
T17. Maria Toennessen: 73--73
T17. Katy Harris: 73--73
T35. Kie Purdom: 75--75
T35. Madisen Bentley: 75--75
T60. Martina Flori: 79--79
For all Ole Miss women's golf news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWGolf and Facebook at Ole Miss Women's Golf.
Players Mentioned
