Kliebphipat, Sibbitt Pick Up Slack For Women's Golf
10/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Oct. 4, 2010
Complete 18-Hole Results in PDF Format 
LAKEWOOD, Wash. - With top player Victoria Fallgren sidelined with a virus and not on the trip, freshman Tai Jade "TJ" Kliebphipat and senior Rachel Sibbitt tried to pick up the slack for the Gonzaga University women's golf team Monday.
Kliebphipat shot an opening-round even-par 72 and Sibbitt a 75 at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational hosted by the University of Washington at Tacoma Country and Golf Club.
Kliebphipat finds herself tied for seventh while Sibbitt is tied for 24th after 18 holes of the three-day, 54-hole event, the only Zags to shoot sub-80 rounds over the 6,078-yard, par 72 layout.
"TJ and Rachel played very solid," Gonzaga head coach Brad Rickel said. "We let a couple of other rounds get away from us. We're trying to rise to the challenge of not having our number one player and leader. We know we have to play almost error-free."
Kliebphipat's round included six birdies and six bogeys, while Sibbitt's round included two birdies and five bogeys.
The Bulldogs are also in a tough field. According to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, 11th-ranked University of California sits atop the leaderboard at 284 for a 1-stroke lead over second-ranked University of Southern California. The University of Oregon, ranked 16th, and UC Davis, ranked 15th, are tied for fourth at 297; 43rd ranked Stanford University is sixth at 299 and 34th-ranked Pepperdine University is seventh at 301. Unranked Washington is third.
The Bulldogs find themselves in 10th place at 307 but within striking distance of moving up the leaderboard with 36 holes still to play. The Zags trail Oregon State University by one shot, New Mexico State by two and are only six strokes behind fellow West Coast Conference foe Pepperdine.
"It's a hard course and a great field," Rickel said.
Three golfers are tied for the lead after opening-round 68s - Emily Childs and Joanne Lee of California join Sophia Popov of USC atop the individual leaderboard.
