LAKEWOOD, Wash. – With a trio of Wolverines currently in the top 15 after two rounds of play at Tacoma Country & Golf Club on Monday, the Utah Valley University women's golf team sits in third place out of 20 teams at Seattle U's Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational with an 18-over-par 594.
Sophomore
Victoria Estrada leads the way for UVU in a tie for fifth place at 2-over-par, while senior
Bailey Henley follows in a tie for ninth place at 4-over, and freshman
Leighton Shosted is currently tied for 14th at 5-over. As a team, the Wolverines fired an opening-round 6-over-par 294 to sit in second place after the first round with the second-best score of the day. UVU then followed with a 12-over 300 in round two to hold down third place at 18-over-par. The 594 marks the sixth-best 36-hole team total in program history.
WAC foe and host Seattle U leads the event with a 6-over 582 (287-295), while Santa Clara is three strokes ahead of UVU for second place at 15-over (297-294—591). By sitting in third, the Wolverines will enter Tuesday's final round ahead of Boise State (604), Gonzaga (605), North Dakota State (606), WAC foe California Baptist (607), South Dakota (608), UC Irvine (611), High Point (611), Idaho (611), Little Rock (611), Cal State Fullerton (617), in-state foe Weber State (620), Idaho State (621), Portland State (624), North Dakota (635), Montana (637), Eastern Washington (637), and CSUN 637).
"It was so fun out there today at Tacoma Country & Golf Club," head UVU coach
Juli Erekson said. "We've talked a lot lately about what each player needs to do individually to play their best. They did a great job today of controlling what they could, sticking to their game plans, and staying loose.
"Tomorrow should be a great day, as we'll be in the leader group. That's what we want. We need to continue to play our game, stay confident, and enjoy the process."
After opening play by firing a 1-under-par 71 on Monday morning, Estrada followed that up with a 3-over 75 on Monday afternoon to sit in a tie for fifth place with a 36-hole tally of 2-over 146. Estrada's best stretch of play came on the back nine of her opening round in which she carded three birdies where she went birdie, par, birdie, bogey, birdie over the holes 14-18.
Henley too sits in the top 10 after carding scores of 73 and 75 to hold a 4-over-par 148. She recorded a total of six birdies on the day. The freshman Shosted is just one stroke back to sit in a tie for 14th place with a 5-over 149. Shosted posted an even-par 72 in round one and followed that up with a 5-over 77 on Monday afternoon.
Sophomore
Lauren Taylor is next for UVU, as she's currently tied for 29th out of 111 competitors with an 8-over-par 152 (78-74). Sophomore
Macy Robertson Murphy rounds out UVU's field of five for the event in 76th at 15-over (83-76). Playing the event as an individual, sophomore
Caylyn Ponich will enter Tuesday's final round in a tie for 71st at 14-over (80-78).
Seattle U's Rivekka Jumagulova finds herself atop the individual leaderboard at 1-under-par (70-73) while her teammate is in second at even-par (72-72).
The Lesser Harbottle Invite will conclude on Tuesday with the event's final round. Action will get underway on Tuesday beginning with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. MT/8 a.m. PT. Live scoring can be followed by visiting
BirdieFire.com.