MIAC Championships Live Scoring | Video preview by Josiah Burns '12
Coon Rapids, Minn.--Laura Knutson (Jr./Edina, Minn.) rebounded from a tough front nine to post a one-over par 37 on the back nine to finish at nine-over par and only two shots out of the lead at the MIAC Championships at Bunker Hills Golf Club.
Traci Johnson (So./Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North) broke 90 for the first time at Bunker Hills, as she and Hope Keaney (Fy./San Anselmo, Calif./Marin Catholic) added a pair of 88's to Carleton's tally.
The 19th-ranked Knights are tied with #18 St. Benedict at 347, as both clubs trail #22 St. Thomas by six strokes. Defending champion and third-ranked Gustavus Adolphus leads the 54-hole event at 332. St. Olaf is only a stroke back of Carleton and St. Benedict at 348.
UST's Amy Anderson and St. Mary's Gia Puch were the only two players to break 80, as the duo is tied for the lead at seven-over par 79. Katie Schenfeld of Gustavus sit third at eight-over par, followed by her teammate, Taylor Drenttel, and Knutson.
Knutson's day mirrored the Knights'. She turned in eight-over par 44, but played the back nine in over-over par "Laura just kept grinding, and she hit the ball and putted pretty well down the stretch," Carleton head coach Eric Sieger said. "We're really lucky that she came up with that round, because we were starting a score in the 350s or 360s for most of the day."
Keaney played better on the back, but her putting betrayed her most of the day, as it did for Johnson "The girls, and frankly the field, had trouble with the greens," Sieger said. "It was barely 50 degrees and very damp, but the greens were still very fast. It was kind of counter-intuitive, but I would expect everyone to be ready on Sunday."
Louise Buckler (Jr./Blaine, Minn./St. Paul Academy) had a rough day, carding a 90, to round out Carleton's scoring.
"Despite our rough start, we're still where we want to be," Sieger said. "We'll need to get off to a better start and putt better on Sunday."
