SAN ANTONIO – No. 19 Trinity Women's Golf made a statement on home turf, claiming both the first and second spots after the opening round of the
Carla Spenkoch Invitational at The Quarry Golf Club, with the A team at +16 and the B team at +29.
The A team set the pace with a 300 (+16) on the par-71 layout, 15 shots clear of Southwestern (+31), while the B team's 313 (+29) slotted in at second. Millsaps (+45), Texas Lutheran (+64) and St. Thomas (+91) completed the field. The A team was the cleanest group on the course, leading all teams with 14 birdies and 51 pars, making the fewest bogeys (17) and posting the best Par 4 scoring at +9. The Tigers are defending champions of the event, having edged Mary Hardin-Baylor by a single stroke in last year's debut, and they are looking to turn two runner-up finishes this fall into a first team title.
TRINITY A
Jennie Dong (Fulshear, Texas / Jordan) put on a clinic. The freshman fired a 68 (-3), the only under-par round of the day, to lead the field by seven shots. She birdied the fourth, fifth, seventh and ninth to turn in 33, then closed in style with birdies on the par-5 15th and 18th. Her six birdies were the most in the field and her lone bogey the fewest, and she played the par 4s at two under and the par 5s at three under, a career best and one better than her two-under at the Texas Legends Cup.
Sabrina Nader (Houston, Texas / The Kinkaid School) was right behind with a 75 (+4), good for a tie for second. Birdies on the sixth and ninth carried her to the turn in 36, and a third on the par-4 13th kept the momentum going. She was rock steady on the par 3s, playing them at even par.
Natalie Lewis (El Paso, Texas / Coronado) carded a steady 77 (+6) to tie for fourth. She birdied the par-4 fourth and made 12 pars, tied for second most in the field, including seven on the back nine for a 38. She finished with three straight pars on the 16th, 17th and 18th.
Audrey Weinshel (Phoenix, Ariz. / Country Day) posted an 80 (+9), tied for 13th, to deliver the A team's fourth counting score. Birdies on the second and seventh holes were the highlights, and seven of her ten pars came on the back nine.
Erica Lee (Prosper, Texas / Prosper), last month's Texas Legends Cup individual champion, shot an 81 (+10) to tie for 15th, with birdies on the seventh and 11th and ten pars.
TRINITY B
Isabella Bullock (Harlingen, Texas / Harlingen) led the B team with a 75 (+4), matching Nader for a tie for second. Her four birdies were second most in the field, and she finished with birdies on the par-5 15th and 18th.
Mason Fikes (Dallas, Texas / Plano West) shot a 79 (+8) to tie for 11th, highlighted by back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th.
Naaz Mehta (Newtown, Pa. / Council Rock North) matched that 79 (+8), also tying for 11th, with a birdie on the par-5 15th.
Lauren Huddleston (Anthem, Ariz. / Boulder Creek) added an 80 (+9) to tie for 13th, birdieing the par-3 16th and playing the par 3s at one under.
Kayleigh Yang (The Woodlands, Texas / Oak Ridge) signed for a 95 (+24), with a birdie on the par-4 fourth.
Up Next
The Tigers go back out at The Quarry on Tuesday to finish the 36-hole event, then head to Destin, Florida, for the Golfweek October Classic on October 18-20.
