HOOVER, Ala. – Junior Jahaanvie Walia is tied for third place to lead the ULM women's golf team at the Hoover Invitational after shooting an even-par 144 (72-72) Monday at Hoover Country Club.
As a team, the Warhawks are in sixth place after shooting a 22-over-par 598 (304-294). Western Kentucky leads the tournament with a 6-over-par 582.
"The first nine of our first round was rough," ULM assistant coach Lana Hodge said. "We couldn't really get anything going and struggled with our ball striking. This is a course that you need to be accurate on and we didn't execute that well on the first nine of the first round. Once we made the turn I think we started to get comfortable in the tough conditions. The second 18 went better as a whole."
Walia had four birdies in Monday's first round. After opening on the 10th hole, Walia birdied three par-5s on the round at the 11th, 18th and third. She also birdied the par-3 17th and added 10 pars to shoot an even-par 72. In the second round Monday afternoon, Walia was steady with just two birdies, coming on the 11th and par-3 second holes. She had 15 pars in the round to finish at even-par 72. Walia trails Indianapolis' Pilar Echeverria and Southern Illinois' Emilyee McGiles, who each shot a 1-under-par 143.
"Jahaanvie had a really good two-round showing," Hodge said. "She was hitting the ball very well and had a few puts fall."
Sophomore Chantal Dueringer is tied for 14th after shooting a 4-over-par 148 (76-72) on the day. Dueringer closed the first round with two birdies on the front nine, going in the red on the par-5 third and ninth holes to finish at 4-over-par 76. Dueringer rebounded in the second round, opening with birdies on the par-4 13th and 14th holes. She added birdies on the par-5 sixth and par-4 seventh to go with 10 pars on the round to shoot even-par 72.
"After a tough start to her front nine, Chantal made a solid comeback on her last 27 holes," Hodge said. "She started to gain some confidence in her irons and began to really hit the ball well."
Senior Shani White is tied for 26th with a two-round total of 8-over-par 152 (77-75). She opened the day with 13 pars in the opening round to shoot a 5-over-par 77. White had two birdies in the second round, gathering both on the second nine at the par-5 third and the par-5 ninth. She had 12 pars in the round to finish at 3-over-par 75.
Junior Eva Bjornsdottir and freshman Line Petersen rounded out ULM's day as each shot a 157.
Bjornsdottir recovered from a first-round 82 to shoot a second-round 75. Bjornsdottir birdied the par-4 first hole in the first round and added birdies at the par-3 second and par-5 third in the second round.
Petersen had 12 pars while shooting a first-round 79 and added a birdie on the par-5 sixth hole and 11 pars in the second round to shoot a 78.
"All of the girls had a strong finish on their last few holes to gain some momentum going into tomorrow," Hodge said. "Going into our final round, I think that we will have more confidence in ball placement off of the tee and in executing shots."
The Hoover Invitational wraps up Tuesday morning. A link to live scoring is available on the women's golf schedule page at ULMWarhawks.com.
