FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Keyed by an even-par scorecard from Hannah Holzmann, the UTSA women's golf team is in a tie for sixth place after the opening day of the NCAA Franklin Regional on Monday at Vanderbilt Legends Club North Course (par 72/6,450 yards).
Holzmann's 72 put her in a tie for 11th place and helped the No. 9 seed Roadrunners register a 5-over-par 293, the program's best 18-hole tally in what is their fourth straight and seventh NCAA postseason appearance. Monday's total eclipsed UTSA's previous best score of 295 posted in the second round of the 2018 Austin Regional and again on the final day of the Louisville Regional last year.
UTSA shares sixth place with No. 27 and fifth-seeded Oregon State, four shots ahead of Boston University, five strokes in front of No. 41 BYU and seven better than a tie for 10th between Augusta and 45th-ranked Kent State in the 12-team field.
The Roadrunners trail top-seed and fourth-ranked Wake Forest by only one shot, No. 15 and third-seeded Texas A&M by four and No. 6-seed and host Vanderbilt by five. No. 9 and second-seeded Alabama and 21st-ranked and No. 4-seed Duke share the 18-hole lead at 1-under par with 36 holes left to play. The top four teams will advance to the NCAA Championships on May 20-25 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Holzmann is part of an eight-way tie for 11th — including four top-100 golfers — at even par in the 66-player field. The senior from San Antonio birdied a pair of holes on each side in pacing the UTSA lineup on Monday. She had a four on the 477-yard fourth and a three on the 389-yard sixth en route to a 36 on the front nine. The 2021 all-conference performer then circled her number on both of the back nine's par threes to counter a double bogey on the 14th.
Ana Gonzalez is one shot behind her teammate in a tie for 19th at 1-over along with five players who currently rank in the top 100. The super senior from Mexico was steady with 15 pars, including on her first 13 holes, and the five-time all-conference selection bounced back from pair of bogeys with a birdie on the 321-yard, par-4 17th hole.
Meanwhile, Camryn Carreon, Hunter Nugent and Nicole Polivchak all have a share of 28th place after each Roadrunner carded a 2-over 74.
Carreon, a first-team all-league honoree this year, had four total birdies including a four on the 504-yard 18th to get the San Antonio native back to 2-over par.
Nugent, a junior transfer from Canada who collected third-team all-conference accolades this year, also recorded four birdies with three coming as part of a 1-under 35 on the back nine.
Polivchak, a super senior who earned third-team all-league honors in 2022, birdied two of the four par fours to go along with 12 pars on the first day.
The second round is slated for Tuesday and the Roadrunners will be paired with Texas A&M and Wake Forest with tee times off No. 1 beginning at 8 a.m.
-UTSA-
