The Vandal women’s golf team finished in second place at the Prices Give ‘Em Five Invitational, held at New Mexico State, and Kayla Mortellaro finished with a tie at the top.
At 5 under par, only Baylor’s Jaclyn Jansen was able to keep up with Mortellaro, as they sat one stroke above third place finisher and Vandal senior Teo Poplawski. Baylor was also in the mix for team rankings, beating Idaho by one stroke at 4 under par.
“We have worked extremely hard on honing our short game and putting skills which has made us much more consistent on and around the greens in competition,” Johnson said. “We have tons of talent and we showed that this week.”
Freshman Leilanie Kim also finished in the top 10 and ended the tournament in a tie for sixth at even par. The freshman’s best round came on the second day when she shot a 68. Kim also tied for the lead in birdies, racking up 12 during the course of the tournament to tie with North Texas’ Addison Long and Baylor’s Jaclyn Jansen.
Fellow freshman Kaitlyn Oster came away with a tie for 27th place at 8 over par and on day three shot a 2-under 70. She dominated the par 5s over the tournament, and shot 6 under par along with three other competitors who tied for best scores on par 5s.
“I’m very proud of the freshmen for their first time in this situation,” Johnson said. “They all played great under pressure.”
The tournament belonged to the seniors as Mortellaro and Poplawski led the way. Mortellaro consistently played 3 under par on par 4s. She also had 10 birdies and 39 pars in the 54-hole tournament. She scored 70-70-71 during the three-day tournament.
“It was nice to play well and be near the lead,” Mortellaro said. “Feeling that type of pressure — it is what makes tournament golf so much fun and addicting.”
Poplawski, not easily outdone, shot a 69-72-71 with only one round not under par, she earned a third-place finish.
The two other Vandals in the field were freshmen Rachel Choi and Mary Sweeney, who tied for 40th place at 11 over par.
Finishing in second place overall was a testament to the team’s preparation for this course. Johnson prepared her golfers for the challenges it brought and they responded.
“Accuracy off the tee is crucial to playing well on New Mexico State University’s golf course,” Johnson said. “We opted to hit 3 and 5 wood off the tee in several situations to increase our odds of hitting the fairway. That strategy proved highly effective.”
Effective may be an understatement as the Vandals led the tournament with 45 birdies, and combined for 14 under par on par 5s — second only to Baylor.
The Vandals are back on the fairways Oct. 24 through 26 when they compete in the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown.