Sungwoo Choi
Staff Writer
The Waves’ women’s golf team fell just short of a victory at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque last weekend. The team was tied for first after two rounds, but the New Mexico Lobos played a little better on the last round to win the tournament.
The Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational was played at the par-73 University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course, where the Waves finished with an even-par 876 total. The Lobos shot a 4-under 872 to clinch the victory by four shots.
“We did not want to finish second, but it’s not bad for the first tournament,” said senior Jayvie Agojo. “I thought I was going to finish second, but, unfortunately, I finished in third place.”
Agojo led the tournament by shooting a 71 in the first round after making six birdies on the back nine. But, she had a slightly disappointing final round of 74, which placed her two strokes behind second place. She shot a total of 216 (71-71-74), three strokes behind the leader, Lobos’ Jodi Ewart.
The four other Waves, including three freshmen, finished within the top 20 in the invitational.
Freshman Lisa McCloskey tied for tenth with a total of 2-over 221 (73-73-75). The two other freshmen, Kaitlin Drolson and Jessica Wallace, both finished tied for 16th with a total of 4-over 223. Drolson’s final round score of 3-under 70 boosted her from being tied for 35th to tied for 16th.
Sophomore sensation Taylore Karle finished a stroke behind Drolson and Wallace to place tied for 18th. Karle shot a total of 5-over 224 (75-73-76).
Freshman individual Kiara Hayashida finished tied for 39th place with a 12-over 231 (80-73-78). She was the highest placed individual of the tournament among ten players.
“We were going into this tournament with a legitimate chance to win it,” said Head Coach Laurie Gibbs. “We shot 1-under as a team total, so that was a great result.”
Gibbs expressed her joy about the entire team and commended Agojo for her outstanding performance. She said she felt the freshmen handled themselves very well on the course for their first tournament of their college golf career.
“I am really looking forward to the season and overall happy with the entire team,” she said.
The Waves will travel north to Palo Alto for the Stanford Intercollegiate between Oct. 17 and Oct. 19.
09-25-2008
