W. Golf Finishes 10th at Silverado Showdown

NAPA, Calif. – The San Diego State women's golf team moved into 10th place at the Silverado Showdown on Tuesday after shooting an 11-over par 299 during the final round on the par-72, 6,120-yard North Course.

The Aztecs, who posted their lowest collective score of the week, climbed two places in the standings to complete the tournament with a 54-hole total of 43-over 907 in their final tune-up before the Mountain West Championship.

SDSU sported two top-20 individual competitors, including Fernanda Escauriza (Asunción, Paraguay), who landed in the 18th position at 6-over 222 after carding a 74. Starting on the ninth tee, the Aztec junior was 1-under for the day following her team-high fourth birdie on the par-4, 309-yard No. 4. However, three bogeys on her final four holes knocked her out of a potential top-10 placement. Despite the stumble, Escauriza still managed her fourth top-20 finish of the season and third of the spring.

In addition, Sara Kjellker (Hollviken, Sweden) ended the week one shot behind Escauriza, tying for 19th at 7-over 223 after firing a team-best 72 during the final round. The SDSU sophomore offset three bogeys with a trio of birdies, including back-to-back conversions on the 16th and 17th greens. She also a added an impressive drain on the par-4, 344-yard No. 8, which ranked as the second-toughest hole of the event. Kjellker's strong closing stretch included six pars as well, hastening a jump of 13 places on the leaderboard.

Gioia Carpinelli (Bopplesen, Switzerland) also vaulted 13 spots in the standings into a tie for 71st at 19-over 235 after recording her lowest round of the week with a 75. Starting on the 12th tee, the Aztec sophomore endured a bogey at No. 14 and a double bogey at No. 16 before reeling off 10 consecutive pars. She soon added a birdie on the ninth green followed by another par; however, a bogey on her finishing hole at the par-3 No. 11 prevented a steeper ascent.

With her total, Carpinelli finished three shots behind teammate Kitty Tam (Hong Kong, China), who slipped five places into a tie for 59th at 16-over 232 after logging a 78. The SDSU senior stumbled out of the gates with five bogeys on her first eight holes before sinking a birdie on the par-5, 503-yard No. 18.  Tam notched six pars on the back nine as well as a birdie on the par-5 ninth, but a double bogey at No. 3 and bogey at No. 6 precipitated her drop on the leaderboard.

April Ranches (San Diego, Calif.) rounded out the Aztec starting five with a tie for 82nd at 238 after shooting an 82 on Tuesday. Despite nine pars, including six on her back nine, the SDSU freshman experienced a dearth of birdies and was unable to overcome a rash of eight bogeys and one double bogey.

With three golfers among the individual top four, Northwestern (+6) held off a late charge by USC (+10) for the team title after the Women of Troy posted the only combined red figure of the final round with a 2-under 286. In addition, fellow Pac-12 members Stanford (+17), Oregon (+20) and Washington (+22) comprised the rest of the top five schools, respectively.

Northwestern's Brooke Riley captured medalist honors with a 1-under-215, edging co-runners-up Natasha Andrea Oon of San José State and Malia Nam of USC by one shot, while fellow Wildcat teammates Stephanie Lau and Kelly Sim tied for fourth at 1-over, along with Oregon's Kathleen Scavo.

San Diego State will begin preparations for the 2019 Mountain West Championship, set for April 15-17 in Rancho Mirage, Calif. For the seventh straight year, the conference tournament will be conducted on the Dinah Shore Course at Mission Hills Country Club.
 
Silverado Showdown
Napa, Calif.
Final Results
Silverado Resort-North Course
Par 72, 6,120 yards
 
Team Standings (Top 5 schools + SDSU)
1. Northwestern...291-285-294—870 (+6)
2. USC...291-297-286—874 (+10)
3. Stanford...294-293-294—881 (+17)
4. Oregon...297-296-291—884 (+20)
5. Washington...300-294-292—886 (+22)
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10. San Diego State...302-306-299—907 (+43)
 
Individual Leaders (Top 6 of 93 players + SDSU)       
1. Brooke Riley, Northwestern...70-70-75—215 (-1) 
T2. Malia Nam, USC...71-75-70—216 (E) 
T2. Natasha Andrea Oon, San José State...74-69-73—216 (E) 
T4. Stephanie Lau, Northwestern...70-72-75—217 (+1)
T4. Kathleen Scavo, Oregon...75-70-72—217 (+1)
T4. Kelly Sim, Northwestern...75-68-74—217 (+1)
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18. Fernanda Escauriza, SDSU...77-71-74—222 (+6)
T19. Sara Kjellker, SDSU...73-78-72—223 (+7)
T59. Kitty Tam, SDSU...76-78-78—232 (+16)
T71. Gioia Carpinelli, SDSU...81-79-75—235 (+19)
T82. April Ranches, SDSU...76-80-82—238 (+22)