This past Tuesday the Cowgirls golf team battled their nerves and a talented playing field at the Cowgirl Classic on the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona.
The Cowgirls finished 20th in the 22 team bracket with a stroke count of 310, 22 over par in the final round. Mountain West rival Nevada finished at the top of the podium shooting an overall score of 888.
“I think we came in with high expectations and let our nerves get the best of us, but we have 10 days till we leave for conference and we will address some areas and get ready to compete,” head coach Josey Stender said.
Although the Pokes placed second from last at the tournament, Senior Samantha Stancato led the team in the right direction placing 25th overall out of the 117 golfers in tournament play. Stancato shot a 226 to secure her 25th place finish.
Sophomore Mackenzie Barrie shot a 230 to secure a tie for 45th overall. A big part of her 45th place finish was an excellent last round score, shooting only 1 over par.
“Mackenzie played confident and more relaxed (on the final day) and it was great to see the younger players step up and perform at a high level,” Stender said.
The last Cowgirl golfer to end above triple digits was Junior Emily Woodward who concluded the last round shooting an 84, which amounted to her total score of 242, helping her tie for 94th place.
Finishing out for the Cowgirls was Junior Kathleen Kershisnik who shot a 250 tying for 108th place. Falling a little behind Kershisnik was sophomore Taylor Dorans who finished 117th. Dorans’ low finish was attributed to being disqualified from competing in the second round. Despite these problematic circumstances she was able to shoot consistently in the last round ending 7 over par, the same as her first round score.
Competing individually for Wyoming included red shirt freshman Gabrielle Gibson who tied for 71st place. Two other freshman proved their right to compete in the tournament with Klara Castillo and Sarah Hankins both tying for 94th place overall.
“We want to thank the entire staff at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes and Troon Golf for their amazing hospitality and continued support of our program,” Stender said.
The Cowgirls will have some time to rethink their battle plan in hopes of success at the Mountain West Championship in Rancho Mirage, California at the end of this month.
