Senior golfer Kayla Mortellaro shot a closing round 73 to propel her into a tie for 21st, while Idaho
finished tenth as a team at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in Sammamish, Wash.
Mortellaro came into the tournament fresh off a second place finish last week, but did not look like herself in the first two rounds. The reigning WAC golfer of the month shot a 76 and an 80, but managed to pull it together
at the end.
Idaho closed the first round Monday in seventh place with a 311. The Vandals were able to get on the greens, but had trouble converting
birdie opportunities. After the first round, Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said she was happy with her team’s performance on the difficult
course.
“The score doesn’t reflect how well we played,” Johnson said. “That sometimes happens in golf.”
The Vandals came out in the second round and shot a 309 with freshman Leilanie Kim leading the way with a 74. Johnson said she wasn’t thrilled with the inconsistency
she saw out of her team in the second round.
“We haven’t really come together
as a team yet,” Johnson said. “We haven’t had everyone perform their best in the same round.”
Putting was an issue for the Vandals in the first round, but in the second it was getting to the green that was the problem.
“We didn’t play as well from tee to green as we did yesterday,” Johnson
said Tuesday. “If we could just do a couple things better, we can get over the hump and score better.”
Idaho came out Wednesday and finished the tournament with a round of 315, which bumped them down three spots to 10th overall. Idaho totaled 935 for the 54-hole tournament.
Sophomore Rachel Choi tied for 30th, while Kim finished in 35th. Senior Teo Poplawski rounded out Idaho’s top scores in 37th place.
Colorado took home its seventh
tournament victory in school history with an 896. Nebraska’s Madeleine Sheils claimed the individual honors with a 2-under par 214.
The Vandals have finished within the top 10 at every tournament
so far this spring, but struggled this weekend. Idaho will look to shake off the performance
when they travel to Las Cruces, N.M., to play in the Prices Give ‘Em Five Invitational
beginning Oct. 24.