WOLCOTT, Colorado – Led by
Alexa Melton and
Momoka Kobori, the Pepperdine women's golf team tied the lowest round of the tournament and moved up to a second-place finish at the Golfweek Conference Challenge on Wednesday.
The Waves fired a 9-under 279 in the third round – which was matched by UCLA today – to finish with a 7-under 857 (281-297-279) at the par-72 Red Sky Golf Club Fazio Course. The Waves began the day in fourth place and while they couldn't catch Ole Miss (849), they were two shots better than UCLA and three better than Denver.
Pepperdine has won this tournament -- which features schools from 18 different conferences -- four times, last in 2014. This is the fourth consecutive year that the Waves have finished second.
PLAYER SCORES
- Freshman Alexa Melton (Covina, Calif./South Hills HS) took second place in the individual standings with a 9-under 207 (68-71-68). She wound up two strokes behind the winner. Her 4-under today included eight birdies, including each of her final two holes. Melton had 16 birdies over the three days, tied for most in the tournament.
- Senior Momoka Kobori (Rangiora, New Zealand) tied for eighth place with a 5-under 211 (67-75-69). Her 3-under today featured four birdies, three coming on the back nine. She's finished in the top 10 at all three tournaments thus far.
- Freshman Reese Guzman (Kahului, Hawai'i/Maui HS) tied for 24th at 219 (74-73-72). She improved for the second straight day and her even-par round had four birdies, including each of her final two holes.
- Sophomore Sifan He (Shanghai, China) tied for 45th at 224 (72-78-74). She had two birdies and an eagle today.
- Junior Megan Dennis (Bedfordshire, United Kingdom/Florida Tech) tied for 67th at 230 (79-81-70). She bounced back in a big way with a 2-under round. She was 2-over after eight holes but then recorded four birdies over the next six holes.
- Playing as an individual, sophomore Kathrine Chan (Richmond, B.C., Canada) tied for 53rd at 226 (72-78-76). She had two birdies today.
QUOTABLE
Pepperdine Coach
Laurie Gibbs said: "This was another excellent final round for the team. With three new players and a new assistant coach, I am very proud of how quickly everyone has come together. We are all very excited for the future, and after three straight tournaments, we're looking forward to two full weeks in Malibu. Alexa played great again, finishing second against a strong field of world-ranked players. Momoka is the senior leader of the team and has had outstanding finishes in three straight weeks."
UP NEXT
After starting the season with three consecutive tournaments, the Waves' final fall event is the Stanford Intercollegiate from October 11-13.
THE NUMBERS
Team Standings: 1. Ole Miss 849;
2. Pepperdine 857; 3. UCLA 859; 4. Denver 860; T5. San Diego State 870; T5. TCU 870; 7. Kennesaw State 872; 8. Sacramento State 876; 9. North Carolina State 885; 10. Nebraska 891; 11. Campbell 893; 12. South Alabama 897; 13. SMU 902; 14. Delaware 903; 15. Central Arkansas 906; 16. Xavier 914; 17. East Tennessee State 925; 18. UC Riverside 933.
Individual Leaders: 1. Anna Zanusso (Denver) 205;
2. Alexa Melton (Pepperdine) 207; 3. Emma Spitz (UCLA) 208; T4. Sabrina Iqbal (TCU) 209; T4. Sara Kjellker (San Diego State) 209; T3. Siti Shaari (South Alabama) 209.
