Posts tagged UNLV
CU Women’s Golf Finishes Second At Ram Classic
Sep 10th
Led by seniors Jenny and Kristin Coleman, the University of Colorado women’s golf team finished second at the 17 team Colonel Wollenberg Ptarmigan Ram Classic. The Buffaloes finished two spots ahead of their first round position in their first tournament of the 2013 season.
After play was suspended during Monday’s second round due to weather, the Buffs improved in the final rounds here Tuesday. Colorado shaved off three strokes each round, finishing the 54-hole event at 18-over par 882 (297-294-291) at the par 72, 6,352-yard Ptarmigan Country Club.
“The team has made great progress from last year,” CU head coach Anne Kelly said. “We gave it a go today, didn’t quite finish it off, but I definitely see signs of progress. We know what areas we need to work on, and there’s definitely room for improvement. It’s a good kickoff to the season. Our goal coming into the year was to be in contention in every tournament that we play, and we were. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite get the win, but they played well. Jenny and Kristin (Coleman) really led the way for us.”
With two players shooting under par in the final round, California continued its dominance to claim the team title, shooting a 9-over par 873 (291-296-286) for a nine stroke lead over Colorado. Illinois finished third with a 22-over par 886. UNLV moved up a spot from its first and second round finishes for fourth place with a 24-over par 888 total. New Mexico remained in contention in the opening rounds, but slid to fifth place in the final, shooting a 27-over par 891.
Jenny Coleman led the Buffs, shooting an even par 216 to tie for fifth. A birdie on the 15th hole in the second round helped her to an even par performance to begin the day. In the third round, she shot four birdies to lead her to a 1-under par 71 performance. Coleman led the Buffs with 12 total birdies.
Kristin Coleman was close behind, placing eighth after shooting a 1-over par 217. After shooting 1-over par 73 in the first round, she finished the final two shooting an even par. Through three rounds, Coleman shot nine birdies and 36 pars.
Allie Zech tied for 30th with an 11-over par 227 total. She struggled in her final holes of the second round, shooting a 5-over par 77, but improved in the final round with a 2-over par 74. Zech was the only golfer to record a birdie on the 17th hole in the third round, and one of just 13 total to do so on the par 4, 386-yard hole.
Alexis Keating and Jamie Oleksiew both tied for 27th, shooting 10-over par 226. Keating led the Buffs, shooting 37 pars. She added two strokes in the second round, but had her best performance in the final round, with a 2-over par 74. Oleksiew improved in the final two rounds, shooting 1- and 2-over par, respectively, after finishing 49th after her first round score of 7-over par 79.
Competing as an individual, Megan Haase finished tied for 65th with a 22-over par 238. She shot an 8-over par 80 in the second round and a 7-over par 79 in the third.
UNLV’s Dana Finkelstein took home the individual title, shooting a 4-under par 212 (71-70-71). California’s Nicola Roessler and New Mexico’s Sammi Stevens tied for second with a 3-under par 213. Cal’s Carly Childs finished fourth with a 1-under par 215. Leilanie Kim (Idaho) and Samantha Postillion (Illinois) tied CU’s Jenny Coleman for fifth after finishing an even par 216.
Next up for the Buffs is a trip to Albuquerque, N.M., for the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational on September 20-21.
BUFFALOES INDIVIDUALS | ||
t-5. |
Jenny Coleman |
73-72-71—216 |
8. |
Kristin Coleman |
73-72-72—217 |
t-27. |
Alexis Keating |
75-77-74—226 |
t-27. |
Jamie Oleksiew |
79-73-74—226 |
t-30. |
Allie Zech |
76-77-74—227 |
t-65. |
Megan Haase |
79-80-77—238 |
TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS | ||
1. |
Dana Finkelstein, UNLV |
71-70-71—212 |
t-2. |
Nicola Roessler, California |
73-71-69—213 |
t-2. |
Sammi Stevens, New Mexico |
69-76-68—213 |
4. |
Carly Childs, California |
73-72-70—215 |
t-5. |
Jenny Coleman, Colorado | 73-72-71—216 |
t-5. |
Leilanie Kim, Idaho |
72-74-70—216 |
t-5. |
Samantha Postillion, Illinois |
72-71-73—216 |
TEAM STANDINGS | ||
1. |
California |
291-296-286—873 |
2. |
Colorado |
297-294-291—882 |
3. |
Illinois |
295-303-288—886 |
4. |
UNLV |
302-298-288—888 |
5. |
New Mexico |
294-298-299—891 |
6. |
Idaho |
307-304-291—902 |
7. |
Long Beach State |
304-308-294—906 |
t-8. |
Kansas State |
310-308-293—911 |
t-8. |
Colorado State |
305-305-301—911 |
10. |
Nevada |
304-314-297—915 |
11. |
UC Davis |
303-316-297—916 |
12. |
San Jose State |
317-309-303—929 |
t-13. |
Wyoming |
311-316-306—933 |
t-13. |
Fresno State |
314-313-306—933 |
15. |
Kennesaw State |
316-310-312—938 |
16. |
UTEP |
316-314-319—949 |
17. |
Northern Colorado |
337-324-321—982 |
Marlee Horn
Graduate Assistant SID University of Colorado O: 303.492.7525 C: 719.821.0689 [includeme src="http://c1n.tv/boulder/media/bouldersponsors.html" frameborder="0" width="670" height="300"]
CU men draw Illini In NCAA First Round
Mar 18th
By B.G. Brooks, CUBuffs.com Contributing Editor
BOULDER – Back in mid-November, coach Tad Boyle and his young Colorado Buffaloes worked up a significant reservoir of the stuff along the drizzly, dank South Carolina coast, unexpectedly winning the Charleston Classic.
When the Baby Buffs returned with it to the Rockies, Boyle found them – to quote the poet – “always in want.” And Sunday afternoon in their coach’s den, their want was rewarded.
Colorado will play Illinois in the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Austin, Texas. The Buffs are a No. 10 seed, the Illini a No. 7. It is CU’s 12th overall NCAA appearance, the second consecutive trip to the Big Dance, and the first time for back-to-back appearances by the Buffs on March’s majestic college dance card in 50 years (1961-62/1962-63).
Before their successful stint in Charleston, Boyle conceded if this was an NCAA Tournament team he couldn’t see it coming.
“I wasn’t sure,” he said after Sunday’s early, anxious moments had passed. “I’ll be honest with you, when I looked at our schedule before the season started, after Europe, I was thinking 15 to 17 wins – somewhere in that neighborhood. Less than that and I think we would have underachieved, over that I think maybe we overachieved, just because of our youth and our schedule early.
“What happens is, you win early like we did in Charleston, we beat some good teams and you start getting greedy. You want a little bit more and a little bit more. Once that happened, I think my expectations, our fans’ expectations, everybody’s expectations go up.”
Boyle is very careful, very crafty not to hitch his expectations to those circulating outside the Coors Events Center. But this time, he might have found it difficult not to. He saw what his third CU team might be if it improved month to month, and by the final week of the regular season – that would be before an ugly home loss to Oregon State – he had seen indications that if it didn’t repeat as Pac-12 tournament champions, it could be among the NCAA’s 37 at-large entries.
And that’s as much a tribute to his upgrade of CU hoops as was winning four games in four days last March in L.A.
“This is a hard tournament to get into,” Boyle said. “We can’t ever take this for granted. This is the first back-to-back NCAA Tournaments (for CU) since the early ‘60s – a long, long time ago . . . so in the modern era, the first back-to-back. We don’t want it to be the last. I think it’s a great step forward for our program to get an at-large bid. Obviously we’d rather win the Pac-12 Tournament, but the fact we didn’t and we got in shows some respect (by the Selection Committee).”
That respect didn’t show itself for what seemed a painfully long time Sunday afternoon. The CBS Selection Show went through a pair of 15-minute segments in announcing the Midwest and South brackets before “Colorado” flashed on the screen opposite Illinois in the East.
During their half-hour wait, Boyle and his upperclassmen were flashing back to two years ago in the same room, when a festive Selection Sunday watch party turned funereal when the Buffs were spurned. Angst built on this Sunday when Pac-12 champ Oregon, which had defeated Oregon less than 24 hours earlier, was relegated to a No. 12 seed in the Midwest.
“I was sitting next to Andre (Roberson, junior forward) and we were both getting nervous,” Boyle recalled. “All the guys who were here two years ago . . . the rest of the guys don’t have any idea, but those guys do.”
The younger guys, however, were not sitting at ease. “I don’t know if I can even describe it,” sophomore guard Askia Booker said. “Your ears get hot, sweat starts coming down your head . . . you’re looking at teammates and they’re trying to keep themselves composed. It’s hard, nerve-wracking. But once you’re in, it’s all joy.”
Boyle’s nerves had everything to do with Selection Sunday 2011, but he added, “The fortunate thing was this was a new year, new team . . . a whole new deal. Logically – and I’m a pretty logical person – it shouldn’t have had anything to do with it. But emotionally, it’s human nature. You know how it works. We’re all scarred and sometimes you’re afraid of reopening those old wounds.”
They stayed closed and when the Buffs were in, with their opponent, date and destination, the Boyle den erupted in cheers.
“I’m happy for Andre getting to go back to Texas (he’s from San Antonio),” Boyle said. “Austin is a great place to go this time of year, heck, anytime of year for that matter. We’re very fortunate, and we’re playing a team from one of the toughest conferences in the country.”
Roberson, the nation’s leading rebounder who showed few effects at the Pac-12 tournament from a viral illness that sidelined him for the previous two games, called returning to his home state “definitely great. It’s a double for me. This is a great feeling, especially after what happened two years ago. We’re going to go and show everybody why we’re one of the best.”
One of Roberson’s personal goals this season is to advance to at least the Sweet Sixteen, and he believes “we can do that this year with the team we’ve got and the talent we have . . . I won’t say we overachieved, but we had a lot of young guys. We started to rebuild and I definitely feel we did a great job this year.”
Being seeded 10th was in the neighborhood where Boyle believed the Buffs might land – and he likes that spot.
“Quite frankly, I was hoping for a ten or eleven more than an eight or a nine,” he said. “You face usually a No. 1 seed (if you win the first game) and sometimes that No. 1 seed, they try and keep them close to home. They really put a lot of stock in those No. 1 seeds and once it starts going down from there, the part of the country is less important.
“So I thought certainly with a ten or eleven seed, your first-round opponent is maybe a little bit better, but your second-round opponent – now, they’re still going to be good, Miami is a No. 2 seed and won the ACC and the ACC Tournament – but you never know what’s going to happen in this thing. That’s what makes this tournament so special – the upsets. If a ten seed like Colorado beats a seven seed like Illinois, it’s not really considered an upset. But if a fifteen (seed) beats a two, it’s a major upset. Those eight-nine games are flips of the coin. We’re just elated to be a part of it.”
CU (21-11) and Illinois (22-12) have only played four games, with the Illini winning three. Their last meeting was in 1987 in Champaign, where the home team won 69-65. If the Buffs advance to the second round, they catch either Miami (Fla.) or Pacific; they’ve faced Miami once (a 73-66 CU win in Miami in 1957), but have never faced Pacific.
Illinois finished 8-10 in the Big Ten Conference and was ousted from the league tournament by Indiana 80-64. But the Illini defeated the Hoosiers 74-72 during the Big Ten regular season, as well as winning at Gonzaga 85-74 during non-conference play. Both Indiana and Gonzaga wound up as No. 1 NCAA seeds.
“They’re a very good team from one of the best leagues in the country if not the best,” Boyle said of Illinois. “They beat Gonzaga at Gonzaga and I don’t think anybody else did that this year. They’re a quality basketball team and we’ve got our work cut out for us. Whoever you play in this tournament, you’re going to play somebody good.”
Before Sunday’s Selection Show, Boyle asked his coordinator of operations, Bill Cartun, to start compiling tape on eight or nine possible NCAA opponents. Illinois was on Cartun’s list, so Boyle and his staff are a step ahead in that area. CU’s Illini scouting report will fall to assistant Mike Rohn.
The Buffs’ NCAA experience last March started and ended in Albuquerque, where they defeated UNLV before being sent home by Baylor. Boyle said the biggest lesson learned from that trip was to focus on one game, one opponent: “Not looking ahead is the biggest thing; there are no tomorrows.”
Playing in the moment is paramount, just as living in it on Sunday in Boyle’s den was excruciating.
“Everything you do as coach, and our players do, day in and day out in practice, all the jump shots, all the wind sprints, all the defensive drills – everything that we do kind of points to this day,” Boyle said. “It’s probably more important than it should be, but that’s the world we live in. You can’t bury your head in the sand. When it comes down to one day, one decision and it’s out of your hands, it’s nerve-wracking.”
When the Buffs were officially in, their coach reminded them, “It’s a heck of a lot easier when we win the Pac-12 tournament; there’s a lot less drama in this room.”
But that’s next season’s goal. A more immediate one awaits in Austin.
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CU men get sweet revenge on No. 16 Baylor to advance into tourney championship
Nov 16th
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Revenge is sweet. Is payback sweeter? Doesn’t matter. The Colorado Buffaloes got both Friday afternoon in the Charleston Classic, holding off No. 16 Baylor 60-58 to advance to the tournament’s championship game.
The tournament takes a day off Saturday, with play resuming Sunday. The opponent is to be determined, but the Buffs will play for the championship at 6:30 p.m. MST (ESPN2) in the TD Arena.
CU reeled in a rare signature win in November, with its last defeat of a ranked team in non-conference play dating to 1973. Buffs coach Tad Boyle understood the magnitude of that as well as what it meant to defeat Baylor.
“In our first year (at CU), we’re up 10 at the half down there; we let one slip away,” a joyous Boyle said. “Last year in the NCAA Tournament we had another chance . . . it was a tie game with four or five minutes to go and we didn’t finish it off.
“That’s why I was so excited after the game – and that we had fans down here to support this team and program. I want them to know how much we appreciate it and all the people back home who couldn’t make the trip.”
CU’s last win against a ranked opponent came last March in the NCAA Tournament, when the Buffs defeated No. 23 UNLV. In the next game in Albuquerque, N.M, Baylor ousted the Buffs 80-63.
After Thursday’s 67-57 win against Dayton here, CU players were pointing at Baylor. They got their wish Friday – but making it come true wasn’t easy. On the game’s final play, Baylor’s 7-1 freshman, Isaiah Austin, caught a three-quarter length of the court rainbow pass, but missed at the buzzer.
“I held my breath,” said CU junior Andre Roberson. “I thought he was going to hit the shot. But he missed it luckily and we came out with the win.”
Added Buffs sophomore Askia Booker: “All kinds of things are running through your brain, but you try to stay positive with your teammates,” We’ve been here before, we’ve been in close games. We just had to fight through it and stay together and be positive.”
Booker led the Buffs with a career-high 19 points – 16 in the first half. Spencer Dinwiddie (11) was the only other CU player in double figures. Baylor (3-1) was led by Cory Jefferson’s 17, with Pierre Jackson adding 12.
CU made only four of 18 free throw attempts, including missing five of six in the final 1:01. The four makes were the fewest in a Buffs win since the 1980 team sank only two against Oklahoma in a 60-59 win. Fortunately on Friday, Booker hit one of two with 11.6 seconds to play, giving CU its narrow margin.
The Buffs (3-0) led four times in the first half, three of the advantages coming in the first 5 minutes and the first coming on a Dinwiddie trey (5-2). From there, CU’s challenge seemed to be staying close – and it was a challenge.
But Booker and the Buffs were up for it.
The long and athletic Bears twice led by five points in the first 20 minutes, with their second advantage coming on the heels of a controversial blocking call against Josh Scott. One official – the trio was from the Big 12 – whistled a charging foul on Pierre Jackson, but an outside official overruled it.
The officials huddled, the Buffs bench objected, but the call stood. Jackson hit one of two free throws, then added a three-pointer on the next Baylor possession, sending the Bears up 22-17.
CU – especially Booker – had loads of fight left. He tied the score at 22-22 with a trey at the about the 5 minute mark. After Baylor had crept ahead by three, Andre Roberson stepped back and drained a three-pointer to tie it again at 30-30.
Then it was “Ski Season” in South Carolina – at least for the first half’s final minute. With the shot clock ticking toward zero on CU’s next-to-last possession, Booker drained his second trey of the half to send the Buffs up 33-30.
When Baylor gave up the ball on the ensuing possession, the Buffs left the final 17 seconds wind down – with the ball in Booker’s hands. With two seconds showing, he pulled up just inside the three-point arc at the top of the key. His soft jumper nestled into the net and CU left the court with a 35-30 halftime lead.
Booker finished the half with a game-best 16 points on a career-high seven field goals and was the only player on either team in double figures. He called it “absolutely” the best half of his college career: “At this level, with this intensity, yeah it was.”
The Buffs outrebounded the Bears 22-17 – a Tad Boyle mandate – in the first and 41-40 for the game. Boyle called that “no easy task because they have some length and good athletes out there who are a little bit longer than ours and little more athletic at some positions. But our guys found a way and we overcame.”
CU gave up only three three-pointers to Baylor – a huge upgrade from their last meeting in March in the NCAA Tournament when the Bears’ Brady Heslip gunned down nine of 12 from beyond the arc for 27 points. In Friday’s first half, Heslip had two points and 0-for-3 from three-point range. He finished with seven points – and one trey.
Boyle’s biggest concern might have been his team’s first-half free throw shooting. After going only 14-of-24 from the line against Dayton, CU ended Friday’s first half one-for-six and finished the afternoon with 14 misses.
But the Buffs had other issues to open the second half, turning the ball over on two of their first four possessions and leaving Heslip open in transition. His first trey of the afternoon – and his only one of the game — brought the Bears to 37-35 in the first 3 minutes.
Baylor tied the score at 37-37 on a baby hook by Cory Jefferson, but Boyle and his bench believed Jefferson’s toss didn’t beat the shot clock. Whatever, the game was tied with 151/2 minutes to play and CU couldn’t allow Baylor to muster any more momentum.
At the 10-minute mark, the Bears took a 45-44 lead – their first since 30-27 – on a twisting drive and layup by Deuce Bello. The Buffs answered with a key trey from the left wing by Eli Stalzer and a goal tending call on a steal/layup by Sabatino Chen.
That four-point CU advantage (49-45) wilted fast. Baylor went inside and got immediate results from the 7-1 Austin and 6-8 Rico Gathers, who pulled the Bears within 50-49 with 7:30 remaining. But the Buffs stayed focused.
After Josh Scott scored on a goal tending call on Austin, Dinwiddie buried a three-pointer, sending the Buffs up 55-51. They hawked the ball on the Bears’ next possession, forcing a tie up that went to CU. Dinwiddie hit again, this time a two-pointer to give the Buffs their biggest lead at 57-51 with 3:40 to play.
But could they hold it? Yes, but with difficulty.
At the 3:00 mark, Baylor – trailing 57-52 – began pressing and extended its halfcourt defense. With 1:55 left, Jefferson hit a follow shot (57-54), Dinwiddie answered with a floating layup (59-54), Jackson countered with a jumper (59-56) and then added two free throws (59-58) with 19.8 seconds to play.
Dinwiddie missed the front end of a one-and-one, but Shane Harris-Tunks controlled the rebound. Booker was fouled with 11.6 seconds showing, hit the front end of his one-and-one (60-58) then missed the second.
Baylor rebounded, A.J. Walton drove the length of the court but couldn’t hit a difficult running shot from the right side. Roberson got the last of his 12 rebounds, was fouled and went to the free throw line. With 3.1 seconds left, he missed both attempts but in the scramble for the second miss, time nearly expired.
Baylor got possession with 0.2 remaining. Austin caught a lob pass just above the free throw line, turned, shot . . . and missed.
The Buffs had one sweet ‘W.’
“It’s revenge, it means a lot,” Booker said. “It burned last year in our hearts. Just knowing we could have this chance and we finally got it. We took full advantage of it. I loved it.”
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