Women's golf tied for fifth at NCAA Championships

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The fourth-ranked Arizona State women's golf team finished the first day of the 2012 NCAA Championships in a tie for fifth place. Playing in the early round of tee times, the Sun Devils shot a 4-over 292 for just a six-stroke deficit behind early leader Alabama.

"Day one is always important because you can't win it on the first day but you can sure lose it," said head coach Melissa Luellen. "I thought we were positioned well and we played in the morning with no wind."

Senior Giulia Molinaro came out to compete in the first round and established herself as a contender individually. Shots fell with in feet of the cup and the only real moment of frustration was gleaned when the senior barely missed a birdie putt and had to settle for par.

"I felt like I was in the zone and everything was flowing together," said Molinaro. "I got a good feel for the greens from the start and it was just a good day. When you're playing well things come much easier."

Molinaro, who shot a first-round total of 3-under 69 and recorded four total birdies on the day, seemed to have an upper hand on the greens and was personally proud of how well she controlled the speed of the ball on the fast greens.

The next couple of rounds are crucial to the Sun Devils overall success but Luellen stresses the importance of staying of the team staying light.

" The next rounds are positioning rounds. We do really well when we play in our bubble, not paying attention to anyone else, and just go play golf," said Luellen. "This bunch is scrappy and they're great competitors."