SAMMAMISH, Wash. – The University of San Francisco once again battled through wet and unfavorable conditions but still managed to move up two spots on the leaderboard to finish sixth at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational at the Sahalee Golf Club.  The Dons were led by senior Samantha Gong who had a tremendous round to finish in the top-5 of a talented field.
 
"The team came out strong on our first nine which was the back of the course today," said head coach Sara Doell. "On the second nine we certainly struggled to find the back of the cup. In the end, we were still able to put together a solid round and moved up two spots to finish sixth in the field, which is an accomplishment in this event. The highlight for the team today was to see our senior co-captain, Sam play a great round and shoot her best score of one under par 71 here at Sahalee during her collegiate career. She worked hard on her game and mental approach this week and it paid off. We look forward to getting home and getting some work done to head to UNLV and finish the fall on a strong note."
 
It was moving day for Gong, who capped off her third appearance in this tournament by climbing 24 spots on the leaderboard. It was largest move of the day by any player in the tournament.  Her 1-under 71 saw her finish the tournament with a 5-over 149 (78-71).  She was one of just three players to shoot under par on Wednesday.  Gong opened the round 2-under on the first nine holes, carding birdies on 11 and 16.  She finished 1-over on the second nine, but still recorded birdies on two and four.  Her four birdies for the day gave her five for the tournament which was tied for fifth most.
 
"I'm really proud of myself and how I played the last two days," said Gong. "Last week I met with our mental performance coach, Yvonne Gomez and we identified some areas that I could work on. I had a much stronger frame of mind and mindset going into today and it really paid off. This course has always been tough for me and to finish under par feels awesome!"
 
Pearl Rojanapeansatith finished in second for the Dons.  The junior shot a 10-over 82 on the day making her 12-over for the tournament.  Her 156 (74-82) saw her finish tied at 22^nd, her third top-25 finish this fall.  Jade Siphomsay just finished outside the top-25 in 26^th.  She finished the tournament shooting an 8-over 80.  After 36 holes, Siphomsay finished with a 13-over 157 (77-80).
 
Annika Borrelli finished in fourth for the Dons.  She climbed 11spots in the final round to finish tied for 40^th with a 17-over 161 (83-78). Joan Soewondo finished fifth for USF, she finished in 56^th with a 26-over 170 (83-87).
 
BYU took home the team title, finishing with a 31-over 607 (306-301).  Sacramento State's Nishtha Madan was the individual medalist, finishing with an even par 144 (74-70).
 
The Dons return to action on Sunday, Oct. 27 when they travel to Boulder City, Nev., for the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown at Boulder Creek Golf Club. The tournament, hosted by UNLV is the final fall tournament of the year for the Dons.