The Colorado women’s golf team is in ninth place at the halfway mark of the Collegiate Invitational at Guadalajara Country Club, marking their return to competition after a three-month break. The Buffaloes, ranked No. 43 nationally, played their first 27 holes at 16-over par, finishing the opening round at 10-over and completing the front nine of the second round at 6-over.
Teams are set to finish the second round on Saturday with play resuming on the back nine, followed immediately by the final round. The tournament format is unique in that all teams are playing their first competitive rounds since late October or early November, which contributed to higher scores across the field.
No. 19 Oklahoma State currently leads after 27 holes at 1-over par, holding a five-stroke advantage over Tulsa, No. 38 Virginia, and No. 28 Florida State.
Colorado head coach Madeleine Sheils commented on her team’s return to action: “There’s definitely some first-round jitters when you haven’t competed in a long time, it’s just something you have to contend with,” Sheils said. “We’re happy the first day is over and I really think we’re settled in and going to be feeling more comfortable tomorrow.”
Sophomore Ellen O’Shaughnessy was a standout for Colorado, finishing sixth individually through 27 holes at 2-under par. She shot a 70 in her opening round—her fourth under-par score this season—and remained even through the front nine of her second round.
O’Shaughnessy began strongly with a birdie on her first hole and finished her initial round with back-to-back birdies on holes fifteen and sixteen. Although she started her second round with a bogey, she stabilized with six straight pars before adding another birdie on hole eight.
Sheils praised O’Shaughnessy’s performance: “Ellen’s round was such a bright spot,” Sheils said. “She actually didn’t feel like she had her best ball striking (day) and that pretty much forced her into playing more conservative golf, aiming for the middle of the greens and two-putting from there. She relied on her sharp short game and that served her really well.”
Other Colorado players include junior Carolyn Fuller tied for thirtieth at five-over par; junior Maya McVey tied for forty-first at seven-over; while Brenna Higgins and Vanessa Ngo are both tied for forty-fifth at eight-over.
Washington’s Carmen Lim holds the individual lead after 27 holes at eight-under par—three strokes ahead of Houston’s Moa Svedenskoid and Oklahoma State’s Lucy Darr.
Colorado will continue play grouped with Washington and TCU beginning off hole ten on Saturday morning.
