Silvers and Nelson lead the way at UC Irvine invite

RELATED CLICKS:
Day one results | Day two results

DOVE CANYON, Calif. -- Sophomore Carleigh Silvers carded a three-round total of 247,  junior teammate Ali Nelson matched her on Monday and Tuesday, and they both finished in a tie for 52nd at the UC Irvine Anteater Invitational at Dove Canyon Country Club.

The Bears shot a three-round team total of 985 (+133) and came in 12th.

Silvers (Martinsville, Ind.) sandwiched scores of 83 around an 81 during the tournament's three rounds, while Nelson (Moorhead, Minn.) progressively improved from a 14-over 86 in round one to a team-best 6-over 78 in Tuesday's final round. 

Silvers and Nelson led a group of four Northern Colorado players who all finished within one stroke of each other.

Junior Chelsea Silvers (Martinsville, Ind.) shot a 248 (82, 83, 83) to finish in a tie for 54th with sophomore teammate Libby Avery (248), who started strong with a 78 in the first round before carding a pair of 83s in the tournament's final two rounds.

Northern Colorado senior Emily Dougherty (Portola Valley, Calif.) shot one of the Bears' three rounds in the 70s (a 79 in round two) but started with a 93 and ended with a 92 (264) and in 60th.

Big Sky team Portland State shot a three-round total of 890 (296-298-296) to win the 12-team tournament followed by Nevada, who shot a tournament low 290 on the final round and moved up to second place with a final score of 896.

The host Anteaters finished third at 899 (301-305-293), Long Beach State came in fourth (900) and Idaho was fifth with a 54-hole total of 914.

The Viks' Lauren Taylor won the event's individual title after carding a 218 (71-72-75). The win was her second consecutive tournament victory. Nevada's Joyce Chong and Kayla Mortellaro tied for second with a score of 220.

Northern Colorado will next travel to Chandler, Ariz., to compete in the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic on Monday and Tuesday, April 4 and 5, at Ocotillo Golf Resort.

All nine Big Sky teams will participate in the Classic, which will serve as somewhat of a preview of the Bears' final event of the spring: the 2011 Big Sky Conference Women's Golf Championship, which will be played at Ocotillo from Monday through Wednesday, April 18 and 20.