University of Richmond Athletics
Zhu second, Spiders third after 18 holes at Patriot League Championship
04/15/2022 | Women's Golf
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Junior Vicky Zhu is in second place following the first round of the Patriot League Championship after shooting a 2-over 74 in windy conditions at Naval Academy Golf Club Friday.
Zhu, who finished 10th in this event last year, offset four bogeys with a pair of birdies. Her 12 pars were second most among the 36 golfers in the field.
"Super solid," said Richmond coach Calle Barlow of Zhu's play in Round 1. "She hit the ball really well. I saw her make a really good birdie on 16. She hit it to about 10 feet and made the putt. So her ball striking was really good and her ability to get up and down is always good."
As a team, the Spiders are third in the six-team field at 23-over 311, five shots behind host Navy and seven shots behind Lehigh.
"We had a few too many double and triples on our card – it was a little too colorful for my liking," said Barlow. "It's nice to see that we're only seven strokes back and we didn't play that well today."
Zhu is one of three Spiders in the top 12 on the individual leaderboard. Sophomore Rory Weinfurther, the defending Patriot League champion, is tied for seventh at 77 (+5) and senior Naomi Mitchell is tied for 11th at 78 (+6). Mitchell recorded three birdies Friday, all in her first 10 holes. Only Manuela Herrera of Holy Cross had more birdies in the field, with four.
Senior Emily Ward is tied for 19th at 82 (+10). Freshman Lauren Jones is one stroke back at 83 (+11), tied for 22nd. Freshman Christine Mandile is tied for 27th at 85 (+13).
The Spiders will be paired with Lehigh and Navy for Round 2 on Saturday, with groups going off from the first hole beginning at 9:30 AM.
Barlow wants to see the Spiders take a more conservative approach to the difficult greens at the Naval Academy Course Saturday. "We've got to be a little mentally tougher in placing our ball correctly on the greens and not being above the hole," she said. "I want us really looking at our approach shots and trying to figure out exactly where we want to be on the green instead of just pin-searching."
Zhu, who finished 10th in this event last year, offset four bogeys with a pair of birdies. Her 12 pars were second most among the 36 golfers in the field.
"Super solid," said Richmond coach Calle Barlow of Zhu's play in Round 1. "She hit the ball really well. I saw her make a really good birdie on 16. She hit it to about 10 feet and made the putt. So her ball striking was really good and her ability to get up and down is always good."
As a team, the Spiders are third in the six-team field at 23-over 311, five shots behind host Navy and seven shots behind Lehigh.
"We had a few too many double and triples on our card – it was a little too colorful for my liking," said Barlow. "It's nice to see that we're only seven strokes back and we didn't play that well today."
Zhu is one of three Spiders in the top 12 on the individual leaderboard. Sophomore Rory Weinfurther, the defending Patriot League champion, is tied for seventh at 77 (+5) and senior Naomi Mitchell is tied for 11th at 78 (+6). Mitchell recorded three birdies Friday, all in her first 10 holes. Only Manuela Herrera of Holy Cross had more birdies in the field, with four.
Senior Emily Ward is tied for 19th at 82 (+10). Freshman Lauren Jones is one stroke back at 83 (+11), tied for 22nd. Freshman Christine Mandile is tied for 27th at 85 (+13).
The Spiders will be paired with Lehigh and Navy for Round 2 on Saturday, with groups going off from the first hole beginning at 9:30 AM.
Barlow wants to see the Spiders take a more conservative approach to the difficult greens at the Naval Academy Course Saturday. "We've got to be a little mentally tougher in placing our ball correctly on the greens and not being above the hole," she said. "I want us really looking at our approach shots and trying to figure out exactly where we want to be on the green instead of just pin-searching."
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