Courtesy of UCR Athletics
After hitting a bump in the second round, the women’s golf team capped off a trip to Palm Desert with a third-place finish on the Classic Club Course in the Wyoming Desert Invitational. Senior Yuri Ahn led the way for the Highlanders with a sixth-place finish. While her seven-over-par in the first round was cut from the overall team score, Ahn’s immaculate three-under-par in the second round kept the Highlanders afloat and ended as the second best individual score in the tournament. Only one other person recorded a better score below Ahn’s second round — first-place finisher Annie Freman of Santa Clara University — who was a hair better at four-under par in the second round. The next best score for the Highlanders in that round was four-over-par.
Finishing second for the Highlanders was sophomore Hannah Facchini. While her second round at eight-above-par was cut, her first and third round scores of one-under-par were critical in the team’s solid finish. Following her in the pack was sophomore Jakeishya Le, who is trying to build off a Co-Big West Freshman of the Year campaign that also landed her a First-Team All-Conference bid. She recorded a par in the first round, followed by four-over-par in the second round and three-over-par in the third. Sophomore Hana Furuichi was the fourth finisher for the Highlanders, who recorded a three-over-par in the first round, six-over-par in the second and three-over-par again in the third. Paris Griffith rounded out UCR’s A-team with scores of three-over-par, seven-over-par and three-over-par in her three rounds.
The Highlanders’ B-Team came in 10th place in the tournament, headed by junior Julia Sander, who finished in 36th individually with an opening score of four-over-par. Like most of both teams, Sander struggled in the second round, logging an 11-over-par second round which was omitted from the team score. She rebounded nicely in the final round, capping off the tournament with her best performance — a final round score of three-over-par. Next for the B-team was junior Krista Twet, who placed 39th in the individual ladder. Her first round score was six-over-par, but she too struggled in the second round with a score of 10-over-par. Like her teammate, Twet rebounded and logged a final round score of four-over par.
The next golfer for the B-team was freshman Hailey White who tied for 40th on the individual ladder and had her first round score of 10-over-par omitted from the team score. She was able to play the course easier the next two times around, landing an eight-over-par in the second round and three-over-par in the third. Haley Wian tied for 42nd on the individual ladder, following nine-over-par first round with an eight-over-par second and a five-over-par third. Finally, senior Tina Nagai finished tied for 50th due to struggles in the final round. She opened with a score of eight-over-par, and followed up with a second round score of five-over-par. However, she shot a final round score of 12-over-par, which was excluded from the team score.
Following the Ron Moore Invitational in Denver, Colorado from Friday, Oct. 7 to Sunday, Oct. 9, the women’s golf team will head to the Boulder Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown from Sunday, Oct. 23 to Tuesday, Oct. 25.
