Red Raiders Tied for 14th After NCAA Opening Round

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Tech did not play its way into advancing out of the NCAA Austin Regional on Monday, but the Red Raiders also did not play their way out of extending their season.

The Red Raiders, who need to finish among the top-six teams in order to advance past the regional round, closed the opening day of the 54-hole tournament in a tie for 14th place after combining for a 12-over-par 300 card at the University of Texas Golf Club.

"Today was a good start for us," Tech head coach JoJo Robertson said. "Towards the middle of the round, we looked like we were hanging in there pretty good. We struggled coming in a little bit. The good news is we are still right there with 36 holes left. A lot can happen with six or seven shots here or there."

Backed by a 1-over 73 card from Lauren Mason, Tech will enter Tuesday's second round nine strokes back of BYU and Florida in sixth place as only three schools – Texas, Arkansas and Michigan State – finished under par over the first 18 holes.

Mason drained a team-leading four birdies on the day, three of which came via solid approaches on par-4s. Her final birdie came at the par-4 17th as she flew a bunker on the left side of the green, leaving herself a comfortable look at birdie.

"Lauren played great," Robertson said. "She was pretty steady. She made a few birdies and really stayed around par. Two more good rounds from Lauren is what we'll need."

Mami Yamamoto also sank a birdie putt at the 17th to wrap a 3-over round that placed her in a tie for 47th overall. She was trailed by one stroke by both Gabby Barker and Amy Taylor in 55th place, while Louisa Brunt added an 8-over round to complete Tech's lineup.

Robertson is no stranger in seeing her team overcome a slow start. Tech closed the opening day of the 2015 NCAA San Antonio Regional in 11th place before rallying to move past the regional round and eventually advance into the match play portion of the NCAA Championships.

"I think the biggest thing for us is knowing we're right there," Robertson said of the team leaderboard. "We're definitely good enough to get this done. We don't have to press too hard. We just have to play our game and eliminate mistakes."

Tech will be paired with both East Carolina and Houston when play resumes Tuesday morning. Brunt will be the first Red Raider off the No. 10 box as she is slated for the 9 a.m. starting group.

Live scoring will be provided throughout the round on www.Golfstat.com.

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Mami Yamamoto gets one back with a birdie here at No. 1??7??! She's now +2 on her round. #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/olKkusKPQC
— Texas Tech W Golf (@TexasTechWGolf) May 7, 2018

Texas Tech University Athletics

Red Raiders Tied for 14th After NCAA Opening Round

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