WOLCOTT, Colo. – The San Diego State women's golf team completed its second fall tournament with a 10th-place performance at the Golfweek Conference Challenge on Wednesday after shooting a combined 6-over-par 294 during the final round at Red Sky Golf Club.
Despite posting their lowest team score of the week, the Aztecs slipped one notch in the standings, finishing with a 54-hole total of 31-over 895 on the par-72, 6,320-yard Tom Fazio Course.
Gioia Carpinelli (Boppelsen, Switzerland) and Sara Kjellker (Hollviken, Sweden) each fired a 73 over the final 18 holes to pace the Scarlet and Black.
Carpinelli entered the day in a tie for eighth place, but tumbled four places on the leaderboard into the 12th position at even-par 216 despite sharing the team lead with four birdies, including an impressive drain on the par-4, 355-yard No. 11, which ranked as the fifth-toughest hole of the tournament. The SDSU sophomore was 2-under for the round until a bogey at the par-4 third and a double on the par-4, No. 4 hastened her fall.
Similarly, Kjellker lost ground on Wednesday, dropping two spots into 27th place at 5-over 221 despite posting her low card for the week. The Aztec sophomore led the squad with 14 pars to go with birdies on the par-4 No. 14 and the par-5 No. 5, her second-to-last hole of the day. However, an earlier double-bogey on the par-5 second prevented any ascent.
Conversely, senior Kitty Tam (Hong Kong, China) and sophomore Cameron Lee (Tustin, Calif.) climbed six places in the standings after each shot a final-round 74. Tam vaulted into a tie for 40th at 11-over 227, thanks to an eagle on her fourth hole of the day, the aforementioned par-4 11th. She also made birdies at No. 2 and No. 14 to help ease the sting of six bogeys.
Lee, who jumped into a tie for 59th at 15-over 231, also managed to alleviate the damage of five bogeys somewhat with three birdies on the par-5 No. 2, the par-3 seventh and the par-4 No. 12.
Rounding out the SDSU contingent was Fernanda Escauriza (Asunción, Paraguay), who finished in a tie for 71st at 18-over 234 after posting a final-round 75. The Aztec junior collected three of her four birdies after the turn, including a successful conversion on the par-4, 356-yard No. 6, which ranked as the sixth-most difficult hole of the week; however, five bogeys on the front nine proved too much to overcome.
Bolstered by three top-five individual placements, UCLA set a 54-hole tournament scoring record with a collective 32-under 832 to win by a mammoth 33 strokes over runner-up Pepperdine (+1), while Denver (+9) landed in the third position, followed by Campbell (+12) and SMU (+14).
The Bruins' Mariel Galdiano (-13) captured medalist honors by two shots over teammate Patty Tavatanakit (-11), while Denver's Mary Weinstein (-10) was a close third, followed by Pepperdine's Hira Naveed (-10).
San Diego State continues its busy stretch next week when it travels to Chicagoland for Northwestern University's Windy City Collegiate, Oct. 1-2, at Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, Illinois.
Golfweek Conference Challenge
Final Results
Wolcott, Colo.
Red Sky G.C. – Tom Fazio Course
Par 72, 6,320 yards
Team Standings (Top 5 teams of 18 schools + SDSU)
1. UCLA...277-284-271—832 (-32)
2. Pepperdine...287-287-291—865 (+1)
4. Denver...293-295-285—873 (+9)
3. Campbell...286-293-297—876 (+12)
5. SMU...299-297-282—878 (+14)
---
10. San Diego State...306-295-294—895 (+31)
Individual Leaders (Top 6 of 93 players + SDSU)
1. Mariel Galdiano, UCLA...70-68-65—203 (-13)
2. Patty Tavatanakit, UCLA...68-70-67—205 (-11)
3. Mary Weinstein, Denver...68-73-64—206 (-10)
4. Hira Naveed, Pepperdine...71-70-69—210 (-6)
T5. Hee Ying Loy, ETSU...70-72-70—212 (-4)
T5. Lilia Vu, UCLA...72-73-67—212 (-4)
---
12. Gioia Carpinelli, SDSU...73-70-73—216 (E)
27. Sara Kjellker, SDSU...74-74-73—221 (+5)
T40. Kitty Tam, SDSU...77-76-74—227 (+11)
T59. Cameron Lee, SDSU...82-75-74—231 (+15)
T71. Fernanda Escauriza, SDSU...82-77-75—234 (+18)
W. Golf Finishes 10th at Golfweek Conference Challenge
