After play concluded on Monday, the San Diego State women’s golf team was sitting in eighth place out of 14 teams at the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational in Fairfax, California.
Through 36 holes, the Aztecs shot a team total of 9-over, including an even-par second round that was their second-best 18-hole round of the season so far.
However, as inclement weather made the course unplayable on Tuesday, the tournament was suspended, with only the 36 holes on Monday counting toward their scores. That being said, SDSU finished the tournament in the same spot they did Monday night in eighth place at 9-over.
Junior Anika Sato and sophomore Stephanie Barbaglia led the way for the Aztecs to tie with a tournament score of 1-over. In her first round, Sato recorded three birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey to shoot a 2-over 74.
In what would be the final round, the junior carded a 1-under 71, which is her second-best 18-hole score of the season. Sato recorded an eagle, two birdies and two bogeys to finish in a tie for 20th.
For Barbaglia, coming into the event, she was focused on improving her putting, which she believed cost her some strokes in the previous tournament, the Pac-12 Preview.
“This last tournament was okay. I think I played decent, but I think there were a lot of opportunities for me to go low and shoot under par rounds for all three rounds, but I struggled with my putting, and that’s what stopped me from playing well,” said Barbaglia before the event.
The sophomore racked up three birdies and four bogeys in her first round to card a 1-over 73. In the second round, Barbaglia was getting pars left and right as she recorded 16 over 18 holes en route to carding an even-par 72 to finish in 20th place.
Barbaglia’s 20th place finish is her best placement of the year so far, replacing the 26th place finish at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate in October.
Senior Anna Lina Otten followed with a tournament score of 4-over. In the first round, Otten recorded five bogeys and two birdies to card a 3-over 75. In her final round, the senior recorded two birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey through 12 holes but finished with six straight pars to card a 1-over 73 and finish in a tie for 33rd.
Freshman Emma Narita came in fourth for the Aztecs with a tournament score of 6-over. In the first round, Narita was 5-over through her first 14 holes but ended up with two birdies to card a 3-over 75. In the final round, Narita recorded five bogeys and two birdies to card another 3-over 75 to finish in a tie for 48th.
Rounding out the group was senior Andrea Gomez, who finished the tournament with a score of 12-over. Gomez had a rough first round that included seven bogeys and two double-bogeys to card a 12-over 84. She was able to bounce back in the final round, recording four birdies and four bogeys to shoot an even-par 72.
Stanford won the team event with a score of 13-under, three strokes ahead of Washington and seven strokes ahead of Southern California. Washington’s Camille Boyd won the individual competition with a 36-hole score of 8-under.
The Aztecs’ next event will be the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic at the University of Georgia Golf Club in Athens, Georgia, from March 29–30.
