BOULDER CITY, Nev. – Victoria Estrada finished just one stroke back to post a second-place finish with a 54-hole school record 4-under-par 212 while Leighton Shosted too finished in the top five by tying for fifth at 2-over-par to lead the way for Utah Valley University women's golf at The Clash at Boulder Creek. As a team, the Wolverines tied for sixth out of 18 teams at 33-over-par at Boulder Creek Golf Club on Tuesday.
 
Estrada, who entered the day just one shot back of UNLV's Veronica Joels, continued to put the pressure on UNLV's Joels especially down the stretch by firing back-to-back birdies on her final two holes to record with an even-par 72 on Tuesday. But in the end, Joels too carded an even-par 72 to pull out the tournament victory by a stroke at 5-under (70-69-72—211). Estrada finished with a trio of birdies, 12 pars, and three bogeys during Tuesday's final round. 
 
The Wolverine sophomore and Henderson, Nevada native, who won the 2021 WAC Women's Golf Championship on the same course last spring with a then-school record of 2-under-par 214, opened The Clash at Boulder Creek by carding a 3-under 69 on Sunday. She followed that up with a 1-under 71 on Monday, before finishing with the even-par 72 on Tuesday to set the new UVU 54-hole record with the 4-under-par 212. Estrada also finished as the tournament leader this week in birdies with 14 as well as tied for the lead in eagles with one. The second-place finish marks the best finish of the 2021-22 season for any Wolverine golfer. 
 
"Victoria did capitalize and fought to the end for a chance for the individual win. Her birdie-birdie finish was clutch, and a reinforcement of what Vic can do," head UVU coach Juli Erekson said.
 
The freshman Shosted too recorded the top-five finish for UVU on Tuesday after compiling a 2-over-par 218. After opening with a 1-under 71 on Sunday, Shosted then posted a 2-over 74 on Monday. She responded by firing a 1-over 73 during Tuesday's final round to finish with the fifth-place finish. The Wolverine freshman finished with nine birdies at the tournament, which included three on the back nine on Tuesday.
 
As a team, UVU tied for sixth at the 18-team event with a 33-over-par 897. The 897 ties for the 11th-best three-round team score in program history. After starting strong with a 4-over 292 on Sunday, UVU recorded a 19-over 307 on Monday, but responded nicely with a final-round 10-over-par 298 to tie for sixth with WAC foe Seattle U (897). 
 
UNLV won the event with an even-par 864 (297-287-280), followed by Fresno State in second (880), San Francisco third (882), UC Riverside fourth (884), and Grand Canyon fifth (889). By tying for sixth, UVU finished its final tournament of the fall season ahead of Sacramento State (900), Gonzaga (903), South Dakota State (904), Long Beach State (905), host Northern Arizona (909), California Baptist (916), Southern Utah (919), Weber State (921), North Dakota (922), Wyoming (923), and Portland State (942).  
 
"It was a great day to play within our conference and be paired with Grand Canyon and Seattle. We got off to a slow but steady start but struggled for a stretch of holes and didn't capitalize on scoring opportunities coming in," Erekson added. "I'm proud of the progress we're showing. The girls are working and focusing on what they can and need to do. Today was a good practice round for the final round of our conference championship in the spring."
 
Besides Estrada and Shosted's top-five finishes, sophomore Caylyn Ponich finished the event strong by carding a 3-over 75 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 68th with an 18-over-par 234 (73-86-75). Senior Bailey Henley was next by tying for 81st with a 22-over 238 (80-79-79), followed by sophomore Lauren Taylor who tied for 87th with a 24-over 240 (79-83-78). Playing the event as an individual, sophomore Macy Robertson Murphy too played well by tying for 55th with a 15-over-par 231 (75-81-75). 
 
"Leighton is solid. She played very well minimizing mistakes," Erekson added. "Caylyn and Macy were confident and assertive and posted great rounds today."
 
The tournament marked the final event of the fall portion of UVU's schedule. 
 
The Wolverines will now take the winter months off before returning to action on Feb. 7-8 at CSU Bakersfield's Valley Invitational at Bakersfield Country Club in Bakersfield, Calif.