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Dallas Baptist in control after two rounds at NCAA West Regional

Cal Baptist’s Chee atop leaderboard
Cal Baptist’s Chee atop leaderboard
Jocelyn Chee of California Baptist University tees off on No. 10 during the second round of the NCCA Division II West Regional Women’s Golf Championships on Tuesday at Hillcrest Golf Club. Chee, 17, leads all players after two rounds with a 3-over 147.

The Dallas Baptist University women’s golf team has been a dominant force in NCAA Division II all season, and it’s no surprise the Patriots are in control after two rounds of the West Regional tournament at Hillcrest Golf Club in Durango.

DBU holds a 12-shot lead on the rest of the field in the team event after posting a 597 through two rounds on the 6,348-yard, par-72 course. California Baptist sits in second place with a 609, followed by West Texas A&M at 611 and Tarleton State at 622. The top-three teams advance to the national championships next week in Houston, as do the top three individuals not on a qualifying team.

“We’ve played really well,” DBU head coach Kenny Trapp said. “(Monday) was a really, really good round. This golf course is playing extremely difficult the way they have it set up. Overall, I’m pleased. ... It looks like we have a pretty good lead. I’m really pleased with how we’ve played on these greens, that’s for sure.”

Four DBU players are in the top seven after the second round, but everyone is chasing Cal Baptist’s Jocelyn Chee, who shot rounds of 73 and 74 for a 3-over 147.

“It’s crazy because she’s a freshman and she’s 17 years old,” Cal Baptist coach Marc Machado said of Chee. “I think she’s had three consecutive top threes going into this tournament. She struggled during the fall and has really come into her own during the spring. She’s confident and sticking to our game plan and finishing off each round, which is key here because this is a brutal golf course.”

Chee played Hillcrest during the Regional Preview tournament in September and said the experience helped her prepare for this week, particularly the challenges that come with playing at high altitude.

“This course, for me, is a challenging course. I guess it is for everyone,” said Chee, who shot a 155 during the two-round preview tournament. “For me, these two days I’ve been thinking about patience. Just keep trying and keep giving myself a chance.

“This course is tough to walk. The high elevation and the altitude comes into play. Our team motto for this tournament is endurance, so we keep pushing ourselves, keep trying on every shot and just take what’s given.”

DBU’s Addison Mitchell, who won the Regional Preview in September, is one shot back of Chee at 148 after shooting 72-76, and teammate Evelyn Arguelles is two back after firing 76-73. Arguelles’ 1-over 73 was the low score of the round.

Addison Mitchell of Dallas Baptist University tees off on No. 10. Dallas Baptist holds a 12-shot lead in the team standings while Mitchell is second in the individual standings at 4-over par.

California State-San Marcos’ Jaime Jacob is fourth at 6-over 150, and West Texas A&M’s Jelina Fernando and Holly Winter are tied for fifth at 151.

The Patriots’ lead could have been 18 shots, but a player disqualification after Tuesday’s second round dinged the team score.

Junior Ann Parmerter was disqualified from the second round after she signed an incorrect scorecard. On the par-5 17th, Parmerter finished with a par but wrote down a four, mistaking the hole for a par-4 instead of a par-5. Several minutes after she signed her card and left the scoring area, Parmerter returned and told officials there was an inaccuracy with the score. While talking with officials, Parmerter said the mistake was a mental error and took full responsibility for the entire blunder.

“She made a mistake, and she didn’t mean to do it,” Trapp said. “With live scoring that can happen. You hear a score and it can be wrong, but you’re still responsible for that.”

Parmerter shot a 74 in the second round, which with her 73 in the first round would have had her tied for the lead. With Parmerter’s score thrown out, DBU had to use Brinn Fariss’ round of 80 to fill out the team score.

Parmerter’s disqualification is the second of the tournament. Sonoma State’s Sabrina Virtusio was disqualified after a similar mishap in the first round and admitted to the error after her score was registered.

“I commend both of those girls for coming back and being honest and letting us know they had incorrect scorecards,” said Guy Begay, the head coach at Fort Lewis College, which is hosting the tournament. “They disqualified themselves, essentially.”

Parmerter and Virtusio were disqualified only for the round in which the error occurred. Virtusio played the second round and shot a 78, and Parmerter will be eligible to play the third round Wednesday to help the DBU team score. However, neither player is eligible for the individual portion of the tournament.

Cal Baptist has ham-and-egged its way to a comfortable cushion in the top three at the tournament after the Lancers got a key round from Kristyna Abrahamova on Tuesday.

“We had a couple girls struggle (Monday) and then those girls have picked it up coming into today,” Machado said. “Kristyna shot 85 (Monday) then shoots 74 today for an 11-shot swing. I knew for a fact she was going to respond that way and not accept that first round.

“It’s great we’re in position. Something my college coach used to say, ‘You can’t win it the first or second day, but you can lose it.’”

The third and final round of the tournament will get underway with tee times beginning at 9:30 a.m. Chee, Fernando and Mitchell will make up the final grouping, which will tee off on No. 1 at 11:10 a.m.

kschneider@durangoherald.com



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