BOULDER CITY, Nev. – The University of San Francisco women's golf team remains in the hunt for its first tournament win since 2016, after finishing the second round of the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown tied for second. After 36 holes, the Dons are 23-over with a 599 (296-303). The Dons finished the second day shooting a 15-over 303.
"While we didn't quite have the results of the day that we wanted, the team battled," said head coach
Sara Doell. "We had a tough start putting ourselves behind right out of the gate. But the team fought back, and we are still sitting tied for second with only seven shots to make up tomorrow. Sam has played very steady this tournament and today, and is within striking distance of the individual title, which is an exciting place to be. I'm looking forward to coming out strong tomorrow and ending this season on a high note."
Samantha Gong is one of two Dons in the top 10. She is currently tied for second and sits four back of the leader. After two rounds, Gong boasts an even par 144, thanks to shooting her second consecutive 72. Gong was steady as she climbed up three spots on the leaderboard. She carded a pair of birdies on 12 and 16 that were offset by bogeys on two and 14, but was stellar, finishing the round with 14 pars.
"Today I was grinding for birdies and they just weren't falling for me," said Gong. "But I had great tee shots and gave myself a lot of great looks at birdie out there. I'm feeling really confident and I'm excited to play in the lead group tomorrow."
Sophomore
Annika Borrelli joins Gong in the top-10. Borrelli also moved up on the leaderboard, climbing two spots to a tie at sixth. On day two, she finished with a 1-over 73. After 36 holes, Borrelli is 4-over 147 (74-73). She was sluggish on the front-9, recording bogeys on two, four, six, and a double on nine to go into the turn four over. On the back-9 she gained momentum, carding birdies on 10, 12, 14, and 15 giving her five birdies in total. For the tournament, Borrelli now has nine, which is tied for second most.
In third for USF is
Jade Siphomsay who is currently tied for 36
th after shooting an 8-over 80. After two days, Siphomsay is 10-over at 154 (74-80). Siphomsay was solid on the back-9, finishing her round with nine-straight pars to take momentum into the final round.
Freshman
Toni Sottile is in fourth for USF and 43
rd overall. Sottile shot a 7-over 79 on the day, and is now 11-over for the tournament at 155 (76-79). Sottile carded two more birdies to give her five so far in her first collegiate tournament.
In fifth for the Dons is junior
Pearl Rojanapeansatith who is in 76
th with a 17-over 161 (82-79).
The Dons go into the final round tied with South Dakota State, and trailing tournament leader UNLV by seven strokes. The Rebels are 16-over 592 (301-291) for the tournament. The individual leader is UNLV's Elina Saksa, who remains in first after shooting a 1-under 71. For the tournament she is 4-under with a 140 (69-71).
The Dons will return to action tomorrow morning when they tee off at 8:00 a.m. with UNLV and South Dakota State. Fans can follow the action via live results at Golfstat.com
