UC Riverside’s women’s golf team took part in the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic in Goodyear, Arizona from Thursday, April 6 through Friday, April 7. The Highlanders were able to put together a solid performance which is a positive sign for the team going forward, as the Big West Tournament is only two weeks away.
There was a total of 18 teams competing in the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic and UCR ended the first day of competition perched in the third place spot. Riverside finished the day only five shots out of first place, behind both Sacramento State and UC Irvine. UC Irvine’s two leading players — Janet Yeo and Kaley In were their only two to shoot under par in an individual round, shooting 4-under and 1-under in the second round, respectively.
After the first day of tournament competition, UCR finished with a score of 15-over-par, putting them three shots ahead of fourth place Nevada, and only two shots behind second place Sacramento State.
A major part of Riverside’s success on the first day was due to the performance from sophomore Jakeishya Le. Through the first half of the competition on Thursday, Le was tied for the individual lead in the tournament. She finished the first round three shots under par and followed that up by shooting 1-over-par in the second round.
UCR struggled in the second day of the tournament and lost ground in the standings. After being among the top three teams after the first day of competition, the Highlanders dropped a spot in the standings and Nevada took over third place. Riverside shot six shots over par in the final day of the tournament, making their final score for the tournament 21-over-par.
Senior Haley Wian had a big round in day two of the tournament. Wian had four birdies and one bogey, leaving her with a score of 3-under-par. She entered Friday in 39th place, but her good play propelled her to finish the tournament in 13th, her best finish of the year. Le, who was tied for the lead after the first day of competition, dropped to the fifth spot in the tournament after bogeying four of her final six holes.
UCR was able to play well early in the second day, recording the best score on the front nine in the final round. The Highlanders were able to get par or better from four of their five players through the ninth hole, but only Wian shot better than 2-over-par in the back nine.
UC Irvine won the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic with a score of 10-over-par followed by Sacramento State, Nevada and Riverside. UCR has one final tournament from Monday, April 10 through Tuesday, April 11 to tune up before the Big West Tournament which tees off Sunday, April 23 through Tuesday, April 25 at the Oak Quarry Country Club in Riverside, CA.
