The Vandal women’s golf team finished its fall season in Las Vegas, where it competed in the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown from Monday to Wednesday.
The Vandals played focused golf for the whole tournament and positive results followed.
“I believe our team is always focused and ready to go,” coach Lisa Johnson said. “Being in Vegas didn’t change that.”
The Vandals started out strong finishing the first round tied for fourth and the second round tied for fifth, shooting 286 and 292, respectively. The wind became a factor at the end of the tournament and the Vandals shot 324 moving them back to 10th place where they finished 38-over par.
“In the final round we played in a steady 20 mph wind and gusts up to 30 mph,” Johnson said. “Everyone fought hard and grinded out the round till it was over.”
The wind was a huge factor for everybody on the final round as each team had their worst score come on round three. Johnson said the worst part about the wind was its unpredictability.
“The biggest challenge is the constant swirling of the wind,” Johnson said. “It’s not a consistent wind when you play in Vegas, on this golf course.”
Despite the wind, UC Davis shot 5-over par to win the tournament with a score of 869. They finished 15 shots ahead of the second place team San Diego State.
UI senior Kayla Mortellaro finished the tournament in second place behind Pepperdine’s Grace Na. Na scored a tournament low of 63 in the first round and finished the tournament with a score of 209 at seven under par. Mortellaro was just two shots behind Na finishing with 211. Mortellaro was also the tournament leader in par-4 scoring with an average of 3.90. It was Mortellaro’s fourth top three finish of the season out of five tournaments.
“This is (Mortellaro’s) seventh tournament in college on this golf course,” Johnson said. “She has, through the years, learned how to manage her game very well on this golf course.”
Senior Teo Poplawski finished second on the team for the Vandals. Poplawski shot four over par at 220, which placed her in a tie for 13th out of 89 competitors.
With the fall season concluding, the Vandals will start preparing for the spring season with weightlifting and indoor golf practice.
“It was a great way to finish out the fall season,” Johnson said. “I’m proud of the team for all the effort they have put in throughout the fall semester.”