LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Pepperdine women's golf team absolutely put it all out on the links on Tuesday at the Spanish Trail Country Club, posting better second and third rounds than any other team in the tournament en route to a second-place finish in The Show at Spanish Trail.
The Waves were tied for sixth after the first round on Monday, but put in some solid work to go 8-under in the second round and finish the 36-hole day in third place. Pepperdine came into the third and final round ready to continue making moves, and did just that as the squad was in first towards the final moments of play, though #6 Mississippi State went on a late run to collect the two-stroke victory.
The Waves shot 857 (293-280-284) at the par-72 course, defeating New Mexico by five strokes and UNLV by seven. There were 14 teams in the tournament and 88 individuals.
PLAYER SCORES
- Freshman Jeneath Wong (Melbourne, Australia) posted her best finish of the season thus far, with an impressive fourth place result, marking two under-par rounds. She shot 211 (75-68-68), finishing 5-under overall. She tallied 10 birdies throughout the tournament, including six in the final round – three each on the front and back nine.
- Junior Lion Higo (Gold Coast, Australia) had another stellar performance and her second top-20 finish in as many tournaments, ending tied for fifth after shooting a 3-under 213 (71-70-72). She hit for par 39 times throughout three rounds of action and posted nine birdies including three in the third round.
- Freshman Yingzhi Zhu (Nanjing, China) put in her best performance of the year finishing tied for 10th. It is her second time in the top-20 and first in the top-10. She finished 1-under 215 (73-69-73) and had her third-career under-par round in the second round. She had the second-best par 4 scoring marks out of anyone in the tournament and birdied 10 holes, including four in the final round.
- Sophomore Lauren Gomez (Murrieta, Calif.) finished tied for 29th after marking a 221 (74-73-74). She shot for par 39 times and had five birdies including two in the final day of competition.
- Junior Kaleiya Romero (San Jose, Calif.) finished tied for 42nd at 224 (80-73-71). She shot 1-under in the final day and had the second-highest number of birdies amongst all competitors throughout three rounds with 12, including five in the third round alone.
- Senior Reese Guzman (Kahului, Hawai'i) finished tied for 51st competing as an individual with a 226 (75-75-76). She had six birdies overall.
UP NEXT
The Waves will return to California, but head to Fairfax in two weeks, competing at the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational on March 6 and 7.
THE NUMBERS
Team Standings: 1. Mississippi State 855;
2. Pepperdine 857; 3. New Mexico 862; 4. UNLV 864; 5. Denver 867; 6. Nevada 877; T7. Old Dominion 880; T7. Texas State 880; 9. South Florida 885; 10. Purdue 889; 11. Kent State 890; 12. Furman 898; 13. North Florida 906; 14. Charlotte 908; 15. Washington State 917.
Individual Leaders: 1. Myah McDonald (New Mexico) 207; 2. Anna Zanusso (Denver) 209; 3. Hannah Levi (Mississippi State) 210;
Jeneath Wong (Pepperdine) 211;
T5. Lion Higo (Pepperdine) 213; T5. Melanie Green (South Florida) 213; T5. Marine Griffaut (Texas State) 213; T5. Chrstin Eisenbeiss (North Florida) 213; 9. Isabel Pellot (Mississippi State) 214;
T10. Yingzhi Zhu (Pepperdine) 215; T10. Lauren Lehigh (New Mexico) 215.
