Idaho women’s golfer Kayla Mortellaro finished one stroke under par and No.10 at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in Peoria, Ariz., during the weekend. The Vandals also finished No. 10 as a team.
No. 49 Illinois won the tournament, shooting 11-under overall and finishing three strokes ahead of No. 28 Texas Tech. Washington State finished in third at two over par.
Illinois’ Nora Lucas won the tournament, shooting 11-under par in three rounds of play. Texas Tech’s Gabriella Dominguez came in second, shooting nine under.
The Vandals came off their opening tournament of the spring at the UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational last week in which they finished No. 8 of 11 teams. Teo Poplawski led the vandals, tying for No. 8.
This week Mortellaro had the hot shot for Idaho. After her first two rounds of 72 and 73, she was able to put together a solid, bogey-free final round to boost her standings. She birdied holes 11 and 17 in the third round, which propelled her up two spots in the final standings.
Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said the team was hitting better this week, but had trouble converting putts.
“Our ball striking was greatly improved over last week’s tournament,” Johnson said. “We gave ourselves many birdie opportunities and didn’t make many of the putts. We will get back to work this week focusing on our short game and putting in preparation for Hawaii.”
Idaho’s Rachel Choi also had a solid tournament, finishing tied for No. 20 at four over. Poplawski started the tournament with a 70, but wasn’t able to duplicate the performance in the next two rounds, hitting a 75 and a 78 to finish No. 27 at six over.
As a team, the Vandals ended the first day at No. 9, but were unable to hang on in the final round. Nebraska, Wisconsin, Eastern Michigan and Idaho all finished within four strokes of each other with Idaho coming out on the low end. Nebraska finished at 18 over, Wisconsin at 19 over, Eastern Michigan at 20 over and Idaho at 21 over.
The Vandals’ next stop will be Hawaii for the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational. The two-day tournament begins March 13.