Red Raiders sit ninth after round one of Big 12 Championship

Cameron Freund and Denisa Vodickova each carded even-par 72s to lead Texas Tech into ninth place after the opening round of the Big 12 Championship on Thursday at Dallas Athletic Club.

The Red Raiders shot 13-over 301 as a team and sit ninth in the 14-team field after 18 holes. Freund and Vodickova are tied for ninth individually, pacing Tech in the 70-player field and sitting three shots off the lead held by Houston’s Natalie Saint Germain (-3).

Freund and the Red Raider team opened Thursday’s action on hole No. 10. Freund made the turn at even par with one birdie and one bogey, and moved to 2-under early during her second nine before back-to-back bogeys on holes No. 6 and 7 brought her back to even par.

Vodickova used a strong second nine to climb the leaderboard, recording four birdies in a five-hole stretch from holes No. 1 through No. 5 after making the turn at 2-over. Late bogeys on No. 6 and her final hole dropped her back to even to close the round.

Lauren Zaretsky is tied for 45th at 5-over 77, while Maja Ambroziak sits tied for 64th at 8-over 80 to round out the Red Raiders’ four counting scores.

Houston leads the team standings at 3-under 285 following the opening round, with No. 15 UCF at 1-under 287, two shots back. The two programs posted the only under-par rounds on Thursday.

The second round begins Friday at 8 a.m. CT, with the 54-hole championship concluding Saturday. The tournament champion will earn the Big 12’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.

Big 12 Championship Team Leaderboard (Round 1 Results)
1. Houston: 285 (-3)
2. No. 15 UCF: 287 (-1)
T-3. No. 25 Iowa State: 293 (+5)
T-3. No. 21 Oklahoma State: 293 (+5)
5. No. 22 Arizona State: 294 (+6)
6. Baylor: 295 (+7)
T-7. BYU: 296 (+8)
T-7. TCU: 296 (+8)
9. Texas Tech: 301 (+13)
10. Cincinnati: 303 (+15)
T-11. Kansas: 304 (+16)
T-11. Arizona: 304 (+16)
13. Kansas State: 305 (+17)
14. Colorado: 308 (+20)

Red Raiders in the Field (Round 1 Results)
T-9. Cameron Freund: 72 (E)
T-9. Denisa Vodickova: 72 (E)
T-45. Lauren Zaretsky: 77 (+5)
T-64. Maja Ambroziak: 80 (+8)
68. Klara Hurtova: 81 (+9)