SAN ANTONIO - Texas A&M sophomore Katerina Ruzickova fired a 3-under 71 to lead the 17th-ranked Aggie women's golf team in the second round of the Alamo Invitational Monday at Briggs Ranch Golf Course.
A product of Ostrava, Czech Republic, Ruzickova covered up three bogeys with three birdies on the front nine to turn even before she steadied on the back nine with birdies on 11 and 18 and a bogey on 12 for her 1-under finish. Ruzickova jumped nine spots on the leaderboard and is tied for 13th with 145 (74-71).
As a team, Texas A&M sits in eighth place with a 12-over 588 (294-290). Nebraska moved into the lead with the lowest round of the day and is 2-under with 574 (294-280). Host UTSA and Baylor are tied for second with 576 and are followed by TCU (579), Texas Tech (580), Kentucky (585) and UCF (586). Texas State is in ninth with 594, while Kennesaw State, Minnesota, New Mexico State, Missouri State and SMU round out the 14-team field.
"We putted better today with three less putts and more birdies, but we still have to get rid of the bogeys," A&M head coach Trelle McCombs said. "With a golf course like this and conditions that are perfect, it tends to even out the playing field. So, if a team's putter gets hot you can make a ton of birdies. It's not that we aren't giving ourselves chances to make birdies;Â it's that they just aren't falling for us right now. We are doing a lot of good things; it's unfortunate that it's not showing on the leaderboard."
Junior Sarah Beth Davis had another solid round with an even-par 72 and is tied for 21st with 146. The Victoria, Texas, native started with a bogey on hole No. 1, but birdied 2 and 5 and was 1-under until a bogey on nine. She remained even through the first four holes on the back nine before a bogey on 14, but birdied 16 to finish her round at even-par.
Junior Mary Michael Maggio turned in a 1-over 73 and sophomore Natalie Reeves had a 2-over 74. Both Aggies are tied for 32nd with 149's. Freshman Patricia Garcia carded a 4-over 76 and is tied for 44th with 151 (75-76). Junior Susy Grunden, who is competing as an individual, is tied for 68th with 159 (74-85).
Ruzickova sits just five strokes back from co-leaders UCF's Monifa Sealy and Baylor's Hayley Davis who are 4-under with 140.
The final round of the Alamo Invitational begins at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday with a shotgun start. The Aggies start on tees 8-11 and play alongside Texas State and UCF. Live scoring is available at golfstat.com. Fans can also follow along with periodical updates on Twitter at @Aggiewomensgolf.