Starkute, Cats Climb Up Leaderboards in Second Round

PALOS VERDES ESTATES, Calif. – Senior Gile Bite Starkute was No. 15 Arizona Women’s Golf’s catalyst for a move up the leaderboard in Monday’s second round of the Therese Hession Regional Challenge in Southern California. Starkute shot a 2-under round of 69 to move up 28 spots among the field’s 84 players. She led Arizona to a 7-over par performance as a team as the Wildcats moved up three spots into a tie for seventh at 17-over after 36 holes.

“We continued our strong play on the back nine holes with nine birdies as a team today,” said head coach Laura Ianello. “We got a few strokes back as a team today and were able to make a decent move up. Gile had a great day out on the course today, carding one of the best rounds of the tournament. If we can continue to learn from each round we play, we will post a great score tomorrow and continue our climb up the leaderboard.”

Starkute’s round of 69 on Monday was tied for the third lowest of the day, which moved her up into a tie for 15^th. Freshman Julia Misemer was Arizona’s second golfer to break par with a 70 on Tuesday, which put her at 4-over for the tournament and in a tie for 22^nd. The Cats’ third top-30 golfer after two rounds is sophomore Carolina Melgrati who sits in a tie for 28^th at 5-over par.

The Wildcats will play the final 18 holes of the event in Tuesday’s third round. Arizona is tied with Kentucky and Texas for seventh place at 17-over par. They sit six strokes behind Baylor and trail Oregon and Ohio State by seven strokes. Stanford resides on top of the leaderboard after an even par second round as a team and its opening round of 2-over par.