After a historic Round 3 performance led the way for a second-place finish in the Clover Cup, Texas A&M women’s golf looked to carry its momentum into the Mountain View Collegiate at the Preserve at SaddleBrooke Golf Course in Tucson, Ariz., from Friday, March 19, through Sunday, March 21.
In the second of two-consecutive tournaments for the Aggies in Arizona, the desert environment proved to be an oasis for similar success and another top-five finish.
No. 19 Texas A&M ended Day 1 at the Mountain View Collegiate in a tie for third at 7 under par with No. 5 Oklahoma State. The Aggies were not as effective on Saturday, as they shot 4 under par collectively to fall into fourth place at 11 under par. A&M failed to gain any ground in Round 3 with an even-par performance that placed the team in a tie for fourth with No. 50 Oklahoma at 11 under par for the tournament.
“We got off to a pretty good start despite some tough conditions, but just didn’t have the finish we were looking for,” A&M coach Gerrod Chadwell told 12thman.com following Sunday’s action. “We beat some really good teams, but I know we had the potential for a stronger finish.”
Junior Blanca Fernández García-Poggio started her weekend with a 4-under-par 68 that put her in a tie for fifth with five other golfers. After an even-par front nine, she finished strong on the back nine with two birdies and an eagle on the par-5 15th hole to lead the Aggies after Round 1.
Fernández García-Poggio was cruising along in Round 2, sitting at 3 under par for the round through 12 holes, but the final third of her round included four bogeys to finish with a 1-over-par 73 for the day. She mixed birdies and bogeys in an even-par 72 on Sunday that placed her in a tie for 18th with a 3-under-par 213 for the tournament.
Sophomore Zoe Slaughter shot 1 under par — going out and coming in — to finish with a 2-under-par 70 after Friday’s action, and junior Jennie Park played yet another under-par round of golf as she capped Day 1 with a birdie on the par-4 18th to card a 1-under-par 71.
Graduate Amber Park birdied three of her last four holes to finish at an even-par 72 for the opening round, and freshman Adela Cernousek had a triple-bogey on the par-4 10th spoil her first round of play to the tune of a 2-over-par 74.
Slaughter carded four birdies on Saturday en route to another 2-under-par 70, a score that moved her into a tie for ninth with five other golfers at 4 under par through 36 holes of play. Cernousek sat even-par through 14 holes on Day 2 before back-to-back birdies on the par-5 15th and par-4 16th elevated her to a 2-under-par 70 for the round.
Jennie Park made par on 13 straight holes to start her second round, and she finished with another 1-under-par 71 after carding a birdie on two of her last four holes. Amber Park finished Saturday’s action with a 3-over-par 75 round in which she shot a combined 3 over par on the four par-5s.
Jennie Park did what Jennie Park does on Day 3, as she carded a bogey-free 4-under-par 68 to finish in a tie for 10th with senior Hannah Screen of Oklahoma and senior Sabrina Iqbal of No. 29 TCU with a 6-under-par 210 for the tournament.
“Great round by Jennie [Park] today; she really carried us throughout the week,” Chadwell told 12thman.com post-tournament.
Jennie Park was the only Aggie to shoot sub-par in all three rounds, and she has been outstanding for the maroon and white in 2022, as this was her third consecutive top-10 finish.
Cernousek made an eagle on the par-5 3rd en route to a 1-over-par 73 final round effort that landed her in a tie for 35th for the tournament with a 1-over-par 217. Slaughter carded six bogeys in a 3-over-par 75 Round 3 performance that dropped her to a tie for 25th with a 1-under-par 215 for the tournament, and Amber Park ended her tough weekend with a 4-over-par 76 outing that placed in her a tie for 52nd with a 7-over-par 223.
Senior Brooke Tyree competed as an individual for A&M this weekend, and a late bogey gave her an opening-round 1-over-par 73. In Day 2 action, she was 2 over par through her first eight holes but finished strong by carding birdies on half of her remaining 10 holes en route to a 3-under-par 69.
Tyree put together a fairly clean scorecard in Round 3 that resulted in a 1-over-par 73, and she finished in a tie for 25th — along with her teammate Slaughter — with a 1-under-par 215 for the tournament. Overall, she placed first among the group of 10 individuals who competed.
No. 23 Texas Tech eked out a one-stroke edge over No. 8 San José State, as the Red Raiders won the Mountain View Collegiate at 25 under par for the tournament. Oklahoma State rounded out the podium with a third-place finish at 17 under par.
Junior Kajal Mistry of No. 15 Arkansas finished all alone at the top of the player leaderboard with a 10-under-par 206 for the tournament, one stroke better than senior Natasha Oon of San José State who finished in second place with a 9-under-par 207.
A&M will now head east to Athens, Ga., from March 25-27 to compete at the Liz Murphey Collegiate at the UGA Golf Course. It will be the Aggies’ second appearance this year at the UGA Golf Course, with the first in late January at the Lady Bulldog Invitational.