HURRICANE, Utah – Utah Valley University freshman
Anna Lesa is in fifth place and UVU sits in sixth out of 14 teams after two rounds of play at the BYU Spring Classic at Sand Hollow Golf Course in Hurricane, Utah on Monday.
The freshman Lesa played well all day for UVU to find herself in the top-five on the individual leaderboard with a 1-over-par 145. After carding an opening-round 73, Lesa continued her stellar play with an even-par 72 in round number two to sit in fifth place at 1-over. The freshman carded a total of six birdies on the day, as well as her first collegiate eagle on the par-5 10th hole during the second round. During the back nine on Monday afternoon, Lesa recorded an eagle, a trio of birdies, and three pars to card the second-round 72. Lesa's 145 is not only the best 36-hole score of her career, but it is also good enough to tie as the ninth-best score in the UVU record books.
As a team, UVU posted a 28-over-par 604 on Monday to currently hold down sixth place in the tournament after carding scores of 299 and 305. Utah Valley's opening-round 299 marked UVU's second-best round of the season and the 28-over 604 is the 12th-best two-round score in program history.
By sitting in sixth place in the team standings, UVU currently finds itself ahead of Boise State (606), Northern Illinois (613), in-state foe Weber State (615), San Francisco (620), in-state rival Southern Utah (633), North Dakota State (644), Wyoming (644), and in-state and conference foe Dixie State (675). The Wolverines will enter Tuesday's final round just two strokes back of Oral Roberts for fifth (602), three back of the host BYU Cougars for fourth (601), and four back of Nevada for third (600). Texas Tech leads the event at 5-over-par (291-290—581), while the Iowa Hawkeyes are currently in second at 8-over (288-296—584).
"We have a great team. They are easy going yet so eager to play great golf," head UVU coach
Dr. Sue Nyhus said. "Anna and the rest of the team endured very slow pace where we ended up joining into a six-some just to finish before dark. But it was a long and productive day and we're looking forward to finishing the tournament strong tomorrow (Tuesday)."
Junior
Bailey Henley also had a couple of strong rounds for UVU on the day to currently find herself tied for 16th with a 5-over-par 149. After opening with an even-par 72 on Monday morning, Henley posted a 5-over 77 to record the two-round tally of 149.
Second-year freshman
Victoria Estrada is also in the top-30 of the event, as she sits in a tie for 29th with a 7-over 153 (74-79). Fellow freshmen
Lauren Taylor (80-79—159) and
Caylyn Ponich (83-77—160) round out UVU's field of five for the event as they currently sit in 50th and 53rd, respectively. Playing the tournament as an individual, freshman
Macy Robertson will enter the Tuesday's final round in 73rd (85-83—168).
Nevada's Victoria Gailey is the individual leader with at 4-under-par (140) after carding scores of 68 and 72 on the day. Lesa will enter Tuesday just five shots back Gailey.
The BYU Spring Classic will conclude on Tuesday morning. The final round will get underway at 8:15 a.m. MT and live scoring can be followed by visiting
GolfStat.com.
