Tyler Bishop of Longmont fired back-to-back eagles Monday on his way to a course-record 63 and claimed medalist honors in U.S. Open local qualifying at Collindale Golf Course in Fort Collins.
Derek Tolan of Centennial, the reigning Colorado Open champion, was the medalist in local qualifying at The Heritage at Westmoor in Westminster.
Bishop’s 8-under-par performance was five shots better than Mike Kitowski of Aurora and Jon Levy of Scottsdale, Ariz. Also advancing at Collindale were Jason Preeo of Highlands Ranch (69) and former Fort Collins resident Drew Stoltz (69) of Scottsdale.
Tolan, a former University of Colorado golfer, shot a 3-under 69 at Heritage. Also advancing from Heritage to sectional qualifying events at 71 were former CU golfers Kane Webber of Aurora, Ben Portie of Westminster and Josh Creel of Cheyenne as well as former Colorado State golfer Zen Brown of Arvada.
This year’s U.S. Open will be played at Pebble Beach, Calif., starting June 17.
Roadrunners await super regional.
Metro State’s fourth-ranked softball team will play its NCAA Tournament super-regional opener Friday at noon against Wayne (Neb.) State at the Roadrunners’ Auraria Field.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Saturday at noon. Tickets are $5, $3 and $2, depending on age.
Metro State is 49-4 after sweeping three Central Regional games in Colorado Springs by a combined 23-2 score. Wayne State is 43-12.
The champion of the super regional advances to the Division II quarterfinals in St. Joseph, Mo.
Amber Roundtree, a junior shortstop from Faith Christian High School, leads Metro State in hitting with a .439 average. Tara Mickelson, a senior third baseman from Wheat Ridge, leads the Roadrunners in home runs (22) and RBIs (71) and is batting .377.
Lappe’s coaching staff grows.
Colorado women’s basketball coach Linda Lappe hired Johnna Pointer as an assistant. Pointer’s primary duties will be developing the Buffs’ guards, scouting opponents and organizing preseason and postseason workouts for the team.
Pointer was the adminstrative president of Hoop 10 Basketball, an instruction program in Amarillo, Texas.
Before that job, she was Wayland Baptist’s head coach for seven seasons.
“Knowing (Lappe’s) vision of where she wants this program to go, with the players and the coaching staff she is bringing together, and the passion she has for CU, it’s exciting to be a part of this,” said Pointer, a former Texas star. “It’s going to be an incredible journey, and I’m looking forward to being part of it.”
UNC’s Cox on touring team.
Whitley Cox, a four- year starter for the Northern Colorado women’s basketball team, signed a contract to play for the Harlem Ambassadors, a touring team that has played in all 50 states and 19 countries. “I’m very excited and honored to be part of the Harlem Ambassadors,” said Cox, a guard. “I will be able not only to play basketball, but also to educate our youth to stay in school, receive an education and avoid drugs. I can pay it forward.”
MWC salutes CSU softball players.
The Colorado State softball team tied a school record by placing five players on the all-Mountain West Conference team: Christine Thomsen, Kelli Eubanks, Ashley Muñoz, Rebecca Penland and Caitlan Stem.
Stem set MWC records for batting average (.553) and slugging percentage (1.106) in conference play. Muñoz received her third all-MWC honor after hitting .366 in conference games. Penland ranked third in the MWC in RBIs (17). Eubanks, a star pitcher, had 23 of the Rams’ 29 wins. Thomsen batted .510 in conference games, the third-highest average in MWC history.
