By The Long Beach State women’s golf team finished ninth in the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown after a combined score of 19-over par 883. Sophomore Maria Davis and senior Jennifer Yu come home tied for 20th at 1-over par 217.
LBSU found itself back in action after almost a month out of competition at the 6,343 yard par-72 Boulder Creek Golf Club in Las Vegas. The 95 player field averaged about 4 strokes over par and proved to be a challenge for all 16 teams in the tournament.
“Our last two rounds were great considering the conditions we had to deal with,” head coach Joey Cerulle said. “[The wind] was blowing 10-15 mph with 20 mph gusts on Monday and then 15-20 mph with 25 mph gusts [on Tuesday].”
An opening round 6-over par 294 put the 49ers in 12th place after the first day of action. They would move three spots up the leaderboard after a second round 291, thanks to another even par round by Yu. The third round saw everybody in the field struggle due to some tough wind conditions. Despite a 10-over par 298, the 49ers remained in ninth to wrap up the week.
Yu led the team all week, and has been a strong player this season despite routinely entering tournaments as either the No. 4 or No. 5 golfer on the team. Her three round score of 217 is the lowest of her career and helped her to the fifth top-25 finish as a 49er.
“She’s flat out the most consistent player on the team,” Cerulle said. “The putts are starting to drop for her too, and the scores will only get lower and lower.”
Davis competed as an individual after being picked by Cerulle to travel with the team. She also recorded a career-low three round score of 217 that tied her with Yu at 20th.
“We sat her down and challenged her to show us some consistency; she responded in a huge way,” Cerulle said.
Davis earned herself the right to start next week based on her performance in Las Vegas.
Sophomore Holland Shourds finished tied for 38th (74, 74, 74), juniors Cara Barker (77, 73, 74) and Haley Tygret (73, 72, 79) were tied for 49th and sophomore Euna Pak rounded out the LBSU team tied for 63rd (75, 75, 77).
Host University of Las Vegas cruised to an easy victory at 17-under par 847 and won by 10 strokes over San Jose State. The Rebel’s Elizabeth Prior defended her home course as well with a final round 5-under par 67 to seal the individual honors.
The 49ers may not have had their best collective performance this season but the positives from the week should aid the team in their upcoming tournament next week.
“The team is starting to get the feeling that any of the five, even six, players on this team can step up and lead at any given time,” Cerulle said.
LBSU will be back on the course Oct. 30 to Oct. 31 for the UC Irvine Invitational at Santa Ana Country Club.
