FAIRFAX, Calif. – After recording the low round of the day, sophomore Samantha Gong earns co-medalist honors and the University of San Francisco women's golf team finishes second for a stellar team performance at the Meadow Club Invitational on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Playing at the par-72, 6,157-yard Meadow Club, the Dons wrapped up the 36-hole tournament with a 7-over 583.  USF finished ahead of three ranked teams after posting back-to-back rounds of 291 and 292.
 
Gong was on fire for the Dons.  She entered the day tied for eighth but vaulted up the leader board after firing a 4-under 68, the second lowest round by anyone in the tournament.  She began the day even on the front nine with a pair of birdies and two bogies.  On the back-9 she was lights out, finishing with five birdies after the turn, including the first three holes. 
 
Senior Vanessa Ha also finished in the top-10, she tallied back-to-back 72's for a two-day score of 144 to finish tied for eighth.  Ha opened the day with a birdie and finished the day with four to give her eight for the tournament, tied for fifth most.  For Ha, this is third top-10 finish this season, the last came when she placed 10th at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational on Oct. 10. 

Kimberly Liu and Joan Soewondo finished tied for 31^st.  Liu moved up three spots on the leader board after carding a 3-over 75.  Soewondo wrapped up one of her best tournaments for the Dons with a 5-over 77 on Tuesday to give her a 150 for the tournament.
 
COACHES QUOTE
"What a great day for the Dons," said head coach Sara Doell. "The team showed heart, resilience and patience throughout the entire day. For a second-straight week we beat several top-50 teams showing that we can compete with these elite programs. Samantha had a phenomenal round with seven birdies on the day and finished with a 68 and tied for first place."
 
 
FROM THE COURSE
 

Congratulations to @samanthagong for solid play today shooting 68 with 7 birdies on the day! She walks away with her first individual win! pic.twitter.com/27POhE0UZo

— USF Dons WGolf (@USFDonsWGOLF) March 7, 2018

Team finished second with scores of 291-292=583 and Sam tied for first with a 72-68 to finish 4 under par! #whynotsanfrancisco pic.twitter.com/Cb5ETjLrfF

— USF Dons WGolf (@USFDonsWGOLF) March 7, 2018

GAME NOTES

• The individual championship by Gong is the first for a Dons since Vanessa Ha took first at the Rose City Intercollegiate Sept. 28-29, 2015.
• Tournament champions Washington led the two-day event with the best average score on the par 4 and par 5 holes.  The Dons finished second to the 15^th ranked Huskies in both.  USF's average score on the par-4s was 4.14 and on the par-5s it was 4.85 going 6-under.
• Gong finished the tournament with 10 birdies which was tied for the most. 
• As a team, USF's 27 birdies were second only to the Huskies 29.
• Gong was fantastic on the par-4s, she finished with an average score of 3.75 going 5-under to lead the tournament.

 
NEXT UP
The Dons will be off for spring break next week, but they will be busy playing Navy at Poppy Hills on Mar. 12.  They return to team action on Monday, Mar. 20 to participate in the Sacramento State Invitational at the Sierra View Country Club in Roseville, Calif.