Slaughter Leads Aggies into Second after First Round of NCAA Championships
May 20, 2022 | Women's Golf
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Texas A&M women's golfer Zoe Slaughter led the Aggies into second place after shooting a 3-under 69 in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Championships at the par-72, 6,340-yard Grayhawk Golf Club on Friday.
The Maroon & White shot 4-over 292 to lead the morning group and finished the day three shots off the lead, held by Stanford. Texas A&M tied its lowest round at nationals in program history, matching the second round of the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Slaughter placed second in the individual standings and was short one stroke of Stanford's Rose Zhang for the individual lead. The Houston native made 15 pars and knocked down three birdies on par-5 Nos. 4, 7 and 18. On the final hole of the day, the sophomore striped her tee shot down the left side of the fairway and proceeded to take a four hybrid from 196 yards out and place the ball 20 feet from the hole and capped off a spectacular round with a birdie.
Jennie Park turned in a 1-over 73 for the Aggies. The junior shot a 2-under 34 on the front nine, including back-to-back birdies on Nos. 8 and 9. Park finished the day tied for 18th.
Blanca Fernández García-Poggio struggled through the front nine but redeemed the round in the final nine. The Madrid, Spain, native birdied three of her final six holes, finishing at 4-over 76 and tied for 55th.
All-Southeastern Conference Freshman Team selection Adela Cernousek tied for the team lead with four birdies. The Antibes, France, native shot 2-over 74 and finished with a share of 27th. Hailee Cooper rounded out the lineup at 10-over 82 and tied for 123rd place.
Tournament Outlook
The Maroon & White is seeking a spot in the top 15 by the end of the round three in order to advance to Monday's final 18 holes of stroke play. It is nine strokes above the cut as the field stands. Live stats for the second round can be found on Golfstat.com here.
Next Up
The 19th-ranked Aggies tee off at 1:41 p.m. CT from No. 10 on Saturday to begin the second round of nationals.
Post-Round Quotes
Head Coach Gerrod Chadwell
On what the Aggies did well…
"Day one is in the books. I thought we adjusted well. The golf course is playing a little more difficult than yesterday with some wind out there. All in all, we kept our composure, had a good start and finished well."
On making adjustments to the course…
"The important thing here is to keep the ball in the fairway. We made some adjustments based on the wind conditions and changed some clubs that we hit yesterday to make sure we kept the ball in the short grass. We handled our emotions really well and had a huge round from Zoe [Slaughter]. Everyone had great moments and I am excited for where we are at."
On having an early start today, and a late start for round two…
"I like our draw going with an early start today and a late one tomorrow. Late to early seems to be tough because you come off the course late and then get back out there early the next morning. I am happy that we get to have a good night's rest and get ready to battle out here tomorrow afternoon."
Sophomore Zoe Slaughter
On the team's mentality and hers…
"We had an early tee time which was great. Our whole team was ready to go this morning and we were fired up. I knew we needed a good round this morning to start things off. I was in a great mood and had a plan to attack the course however I could."
On what she did well…
"My ball striking was pretty good and my speed when putting was solid. Having good speed on the greens helps a lot because even when you miss, you will just have a short tap in to finish."
On her birdie on No. 18…
"It was a nerve wracking shot over the water, but we picked the right club with a four hybrid and hit it to about 20 feet. It didn't break at the end how I thought for eagle, but I had a committed line and took a committed shot to put myself in a good spot for birdie."
Team Standings
1 – Stanford (+1)
2 – Texas A&M (+4)
3 – UCLA (+7)
T4 – Auburn (+8)
T4 – Florida State (+8)
T4 – LSU (+8)
7 – Oregon (+9)
T8 – Alabama (+10)
T8 – USC (+10)
10 – Mississippi State (+11)
11 – TCU (+12)
T12 – Wake Forest (+13)
T12 – Michigan (+13)
T12 – Purdue (+13)
T12 – Baylor (+13)
16 – Arizona State (+14)
17 – Georgia (+15)
18 – Virginia (+16)
19 – Texas (+17)
20 – South Carolina (+18)
T21 – Oklahoma State (+19)
T21 – Arkansas (+19)
T21 – San Jose State (+19
24 – Vanderbilt (+20)
Follow the Aggies
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M women's golf. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M women's golf team on Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter by following @AggieWomensGolf.
The Maroon & White shot 4-over 292 to lead the morning group and finished the day three shots off the lead, held by Stanford. Texas A&M tied its lowest round at nationals in program history, matching the second round of the 2014 NCAA Championships.
Slaughter placed second in the individual standings and was short one stroke of Stanford's Rose Zhang for the individual lead. The Houston native made 15 pars and knocked down three birdies on par-5 Nos. 4, 7 and 18. On the final hole of the day, the sophomore striped her tee shot down the left side of the fairway and proceeded to take a four hybrid from 196 yards out and place the ball 20 feet from the hole and capped off a spectacular round with a birdie.
Jennie Park turned in a 1-over 73 for the Aggies. The junior shot a 2-under 34 on the front nine, including back-to-back birdies on Nos. 8 and 9. Park finished the day tied for 18th.
Blanca Fernández García-Poggio struggled through the front nine but redeemed the round in the final nine. The Madrid, Spain, native birdied three of her final six holes, finishing at 4-over 76 and tied for 55th.
All-Southeastern Conference Freshman Team selection Adela Cernousek tied for the team lead with four birdies. The Antibes, France, native shot 2-over 74 and finished with a share of 27th. Hailee Cooper rounded out the lineup at 10-over 82 and tied for 123rd place.
Tournament Outlook
The Maroon & White is seeking a spot in the top 15 by the end of the round three in order to advance to Monday's final 18 holes of stroke play. It is nine strokes above the cut as the field stands. Live stats for the second round can be found on Golfstat.com here.
Next Up
The 19th-ranked Aggies tee off at 1:41 p.m. CT from No. 10 on Saturday to begin the second round of nationals.
Post-Round Quotes
Head Coach Gerrod Chadwell
On what the Aggies did well…
"Day one is in the books. I thought we adjusted well. The golf course is playing a little more difficult than yesterday with some wind out there. All in all, we kept our composure, had a good start and finished well."
On making adjustments to the course…
"The important thing here is to keep the ball in the fairway. We made some adjustments based on the wind conditions and changed some clubs that we hit yesterday to make sure we kept the ball in the short grass. We handled our emotions really well and had a huge round from Zoe [Slaughter]. Everyone had great moments and I am excited for where we are at."
On having an early start today, and a late start for round two…
"I like our draw going with an early start today and a late one tomorrow. Late to early seems to be tough because you come off the course late and then get back out there early the next morning. I am happy that we get to have a good night's rest and get ready to battle out here tomorrow afternoon."
Sophomore Zoe Slaughter
On the team's mentality and hers…
"We had an early tee time which was great. Our whole team was ready to go this morning and we were fired up. I knew we needed a good round this morning to start things off. I was in a great mood and had a plan to attack the course however I could."
On what she did well…
"My ball striking was pretty good and my speed when putting was solid. Having good speed on the greens helps a lot because even when you miss, you will just have a short tap in to finish."
On her birdie on No. 18…
"It was a nerve wracking shot over the water, but we picked the right club with a four hybrid and hit it to about 20 feet. It didn't break at the end how I thought for eagle, but I had a committed line and took a committed shot to put myself in a good spot for birdie."
Team Standings
1 – Stanford (+1)
2 – Texas A&M (+4)
3 – UCLA (+7)
T4 – Auburn (+8)
T4 – Florida State (+8)
T4 – LSU (+8)
7 – Oregon (+9)
T8 – Alabama (+10)
T8 – USC (+10)
10 – Mississippi State (+11)
11 – TCU (+12)
T12 – Wake Forest (+13)
T12 – Michigan (+13)
T12 – Purdue (+13)
T12 – Baylor (+13)
16 – Arizona State (+14)
17 – Georgia (+15)
18 – Virginia (+16)
19 – Texas (+17)
20 – South Carolina (+18)
T21 – Oklahoma State (+19)
T21 – Arkansas (+19)
T21 – San Jose State (+19
24 – Vanderbilt (+20)
| Place | Team/Player | Round 1 | Overall |
| 2 | Texas A&M | 292 (+4) | 292 (+4) |
| 2 | Zoe Slaughter | 69 (-3) | 69 (-3) |
| T18 | Jennie Park | 73 (+1) | 73 (+1) |
| T27 | Adela Cernousek | 74 (+2) | 74 (+2) |
| T55 | Blanca Fernández García-Poggio | 76 (+4) | 76 (+4) |
| T123 | Hailee Cooper | 82 (+10) | 82 (+10) |
Follow the Aggies
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M women's golf. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M women's golf team on Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter by following @AggieWomensGolf.
Players Mentioned
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