So far, the spring season has fared well for the San Diego State women’s golf team.
The Aztecs have jumped up 22 spots in the national rankings thanks to a sixth-place finish at the San Diego State Classic last week, and they’ve added another top-10 finish to their resume with a 10th-place finish at the Pac-12 Preview tournament on Wednesday.
The 54-hole tournament at Nanea Golf Club in Kailua Kona, Hawaii, was loaded with competition. Eight teams that are currently ranked in the top 50 played in the event, including No. 2 Stanford, No. 4 USC and No. 6 UCLA.
SDSU was able to step up to the challenge, finishing in 10th place with a tournament score of 35 over par. The Aztecs beat Washington State and Hawaii and were a stroke away from finishing in a tie with California.
Freshman Emma Narita led the way for the Aztecs, finishing in a tie for 18th with a tournament score of 3-over. In Narita’s first round, she recorded 13 pars that led to a 1-over 74. In her second round, the freshman recorded four birdies and four bogeys to card an even-par 73.
In her final round, Narita was 1-under until the final two holes, where she recorded a double-bogey and a bogey to finish in a tie for 18th.
Sophomore Stephanie Barbaglia followed Narita, finishing in a tie for 28th at 6-over. Similar to Narita, Barbaglia had 14 pars in her first round en route to carding a 2-over 75. In the second round, the sophomore recorded three birdies and five bogeys to shoot another 2-over 75.
In the final round, Barbaglia started 3-over par after her first four holes. She was able to recover with three birdies to shoot her third straight 2-over 75.
Senior Anna Lina Otten came in third for the Aztecs, finishing in 43rd place at 12-over. In her first round, Otten recorded five bogeys and three birdies to card a 2-over 75. In the second round, Otten was even-par until she recorded four bogeys in her final eight holes to card a 3-over 76.
In the final round, the senior dropped 10 spots after carding a 7-over 80, including five bogeys and a double-bogey.
Following Otten was her fellow senior Andrea Gomez, who finished in 52nd place at 18-over. In her first two rounds, Gomez carded a 7-over 80 and an 8-over 81 that included 12 bogeys and a triple-bogey over the 36 holes. Gomez ended on a high note, shooting a 3-over 76 in the final round with a birdie, two bogeys and a double-bogey.
Junior Anika Sato finished one place behind Gomez in a tie for 53rd at 23-over. Sato carded a 5-over 78 with two birdies, four bogeys and a triple-bogey. In the second round, Sato struggled, carding a 13-over 86 with two birdies, seven bogeys, two double-bogeys and a quadruple-bogey. Sato bounced back in the final round, carding another 5-over 78 with seven bogeys and two birdies.
UCLA won the team competition at 11-under, four strokes ahead of Stanford. UCLA also won the individual competition, with Zoe Campos finishing at 8-under.
The Aztecs next event will be the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational at the Meadow Golf Club in Fairfax, California, from March 4–5.
