The No. 17 Texas A&M women’s golf team battled to tie for first place at the MountainView Collegiate in Tucson, Arizona but couldn’t hold on to the top spot as it settled with a second place finish to cap the March 15-17 competition.
The Aggies wrapped up the first day of competition in third place at The Preserve at Saddlebrooke, producing a 1-over 289 that stood seven shots back of No. 42 South Florida and two shots behind No. 33 Houston.
A 6-under 282 showing on the second day brought the Maroon and White even with the Bulls, but A&M couldn’t keep pace in the finale as it finished four shots behind South Florida at 12-under 852. The Aggies’ three eagles led the 15-team field but tied for fourth with 43 birdies.
A&M received a pair of top-10 showings from junior Adela Cernousek and graduate Blanca Fernández García-Poggio, with the pair tying for sixth place at 5-under 211. Two years removed from a 10th-place performance at the MountainView Collegiate, graduate Jennie Park came in tied for 17th at 1-under 215.
“We had a great start but got outplayed in the final nine holes,” coach Gerrod Chadwell said, “We couldn’t have asked for a better start but made some mistakes on the back nine. We are really close and are moving in the right direction. Our ball striking is great and we just need to capitalize on some of the opportunities that we are leaving out there.”
The Aggies finished eight shots ahead of the third-place Cougars and had a 13-shot edge over the event’s highest-ranked program in No. 6 Arkansas. SEC foe No. 38 Tennessee came in sixth at 2-over 866. A&M’s second-place showing in its fourth tournament of the season continued the squad’s streak of a top-five finish in each event.
Freshman Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio finished 1-over 217 to tie for 23rd, with a 2-under 70 on Sunday providing a 12-spot boost from Saturday. At 9-over 225, senior Zoe Slaughter tied for 54th. Sophomore Mia Nixon, competing as an individual, tied for 61st at 11-over 227 after turning in her best outing of the event at 1-over 73 on Sunday.
Cernousek and Blanca Fernández García-Poggio each put forth a 1-under 71 effort on Friday but saved their best performances for Sunday, with a 3-under 69 and 2-under 70, respectively. Cernousek entered the weekend with a team-high 70.33 stroke average and maintained it with her showing.
The Aggies will close the regular season on March 22-24 at the Clemson Invitational in Sunset, South Carolina at The Reserve at Lake Keowee.
