Sept. 24, 2012

GolfWeek Challenge -- First Rd

WOLCOTT, Colo. (seminoles.com) - Florida State sophomore Carlton Kuhlo shot a career low tying 74 and is in a tie for 23rd place in the individual standings and the Seminole women's golf team is in 10th place in the team standings after the first of three rounds at the GolfWeek Challenge at the Red Sky Golf Club. Kuhlo carded the first eagle of her career and totaled 13 holes at par or better in leading the Seminoles with her two over par score during the first 18 holes of the tournament.

Oklahoma and Pepperdine, ranked 25th and 26th respectively in GolfWeek's preseason top 30, are tied for first in the team standings with identical 2 under par team scores of 286. The Sooners and Waves lead the field of 18 teams with 36 holes to play and are 24 strokes ahead of No. 1 ranked UCLA. The co-leaders in the team standings were the only two teams who shot under par golf on the first day of the tournament. The Bruins, who are playing the tournament with only four golfers, had only one player finish at even par or better in the first round.

"We battled today and I was happy to see that in our first round of the season," said head coach Amy Bond. "I mean that in a positive way because it took us a little while to settle in begin playing good golf. As a team we made a nice comeback midway through round and I'm really looking forward to seeing that in the final two rounds of this event. We knocked the rust and we will be ready to go tomorrow.

The Seminoles will begin play in the second round only one six strokes out of the top five and only 12 strokes behind UC Davis in third place.

Kuhlo (Tallahassee, Fla.) played her best golf late in the round as she finished with an eagle, a birdie and three holes at par over her final six holes of the afternoon. After her first 12 holes, she was a 4 over par. She played her final six holes at 2 under par to finish with her career low tying score of 74. Kuhlo's eagle came as a three on the par five fifth hole. She was par or better on 13 of the 18 holes as she made her fourth career appearance in the Seminoles' line-up.

Kuhlo is playing for the first top 25 finish of her career. She finished in a career best 29th place at the Mo Morial Tournament at Texas A&M to open the fall 2011 season.

Sophomore Laure Castelain (Bordeaux, France) is in a tie for 28th place in the individual standings after carding a 3 over par score of 75. She led the Seminoles with four holes scored at par or better including her first eagle of the season. Castelain eagled the par five 15th hole and totaled two holes scored at birdie or better on both sides of the course. Including her eagle, she played holes 10-18 (her first nine) at 2 over par and with two birdies, she played holes 1-9 (her back nine) at 3 over.

Freshman Olivia Hullert (Baerum, Norway) carded a five over par score of 77 - a total that included three birdies on her final eight holes of the round. She played her final nine holes of the round at even par with seven holes scored at par or better.

"Our young players played well," said Bond. "Carlton, Laure and Olivia learned a lot out there today. Tomorrow I fully expect our upperclassmen - Jessica Negron and Mary Beth Ramsay - to play like they know how to play. It will be great to get all five playing well starting tomorrow."

The GolfWeek Challenge, now in its fourth season, matches teams from 18 different conferences across the country in three days of golf in one of the most powerful tournaments of the fall season. Florida State begins the 2012-13 fall and spring seasons ranked No. 29 by GolfWeek.

Florida State will play with Denver and South Florida and will tee off beginning at 11:30 est.

Fourth Annual GolfWeek Challenge/Sept. 24-26, 2012/Par 72
Red Sky Golf Club/Wolcott, Colo./First Round Florida State Results
10.     Florida State        304
T23.    Carlton Kuhlo        74
T28.    Laure Castelain      75
T45.    Olivia Hullert       77
T52.    Jessica Negron       78
T74.    Mary Beth Ramsay     81

Fourth Annual GolfWeek Challenge/Sept. 24-26, 2012/Par 72
Red Sky Golf Club/Wolcott, Colo./First Round Team Results
T1.    Pepperdine          286   10.     Florida State       304
T1.    Oklahoma            286   T11.    Denver              305
3.     UC Davis            292   T11.    South Florida       305
T4.    E. Tennessee St.    298   T11.    Furman              305
T4.    Campbell            298   14.     Texas San Antonio   307
6.     Ole Miss            300   T15.    Georgia State       310
7.     San Diego State     302   T15.    UCLA                310
T8.    San Jose State      303   T17.    Tulsa               311
T8.    Nebraska            303   18.     Missouri State      318

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Negron In 8th At NCAA West Regional Championships

Kuhlo: Homegrown Talent

Negron Leads Seminoles At NCAA West Regional

Head Above The Rest

Hullert Making Her Mark As A Freshman

Women's Golf Tees Off Thursday In NCAA Regionals