Griz finish 12th at Fresno State Classic

Monday, March 7

Fresno, Calif.

Montana

Fresno State Classic

3/8/2016 5:12:00 PM | Golf

By: Montana Sports Information

Results

The Montana women's golf team shot a second-round 315 on Tuesday to finish in 12th place at the two-day, two-round Fresno State Classic, which was held at the San Joaquin Country Club in Fresno.

The Grizzlies, who were playing in their first tournament of the spring season, shot a 314 on Monday afternoon, after the tournament's opening round Monday morning was cancelled because of rain.

Fresno State, with rounds of 286 and 291, won the tournament for the third straight time, finishing eight strokes ahead of Boise State, 11 up on Cal State Fullerton.

"It was good to get back into tournament golf. It had been four months since we'd played a tournament, so we're getting the rust off," said coach Matt Higgins. "Tournament golf is completely different than playing a practice round or even a qualifying round.

"We had some bright things, so we're looking to build on that."

Alexa Schendelman led Montana for the second straight round. The junior shot a 76 on Monday, carding a 4-over after recovering from a slow start. On Tuesday she birdied her first hole, gave it right back with a bogey on her second, then played her final 16 holes at a tidy 2-over to finish tied for 25th.

"Lexi had an outstanding round today. She was very steady," said Higgins. "She birdied her first hole to get off to a good start, which was different than yesterday, then played a very steady round. I was impressed."

Sophomore Hailey Hoagland shot a second-round 78 and was on her way to something much better. She was even par through 10 holes, then played the next five at 6-over. Freshman Baylee Barckley shot an 81 on Tuesday, freshman Sadie Crippen an 82, and senior Hayley Bingham an 83.

The team's top four scores count in tournament golf.

"We need to get out and play a little more tournament golf, and we need to find that third and fourth score," said Higgins. "We have one or two girls who shoot well, but we need other scores if we're going to put it all together at the same time."

Santa Clara's Annie Freman, with rounds of 67 and 69, won the tournament at 8-under. Boise State's Genevieve Ling (68-71) and Fresno State's Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir (68-71) tied for second at 5-under.

Montana will next compete in two weeks at the Sacramento State Invitational at Roseville, Calif.