Oct. 26, 2011
Final Results (PDF)
HENDERSON, Nev. - Sophomore Jessica Chulya finished third and freshman Beverly Vatananugulkit was fourth as No. 21 UC Davis romped to its second win of the fall on Wednesday with a dominating 15-shot win at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown at Boulder Creek Golf Club.
UC Davis, which opened the tournament with a school-record 11-under 277 on Monday, led the 16-team tournament after each round, building a three-shot lead after the first day into seven strokes through Tuesday.
The Aggies fired a 14-over 302 in windy conditions Wednesday for a 5-over 869 total, easily beating No. 37 San Diego State and No. 41 Pepperdine who were well back tied for second at 20-over. Eighteenth-ranked Oklahoma (890) was fourth while three teams, including Big West member UC Irvine, tied for fifth (891).
Chulya followed her career-best 68 on Tuesday with a 1-over 73 on Wednesday, UC Davis' best round of the day. She finished a career-high third at 4-under 212. Vatanagulkit also enjoyed the best tournament of her young Aggie career, shooting 74 in the final round to place fourth at 2-under 214.
Junior Amy Simanton posted another high finish for UC Davis, tying for 13th at 6-over after firing a 76 on Wednesday. Junior Demi Runas and freshman Blair Lewis each had 79s, tying for 20th and 43rd, respectively at 7-over.
Chulya gave UC Davis its fifth different team leader in its five tournaments this fall.
"Today was incredibly windy and long. It took a lot of patience and determination from all of the players," said Aggie coach Anne Walker. "Jessica and Bev were phenomenal this tournament. They really stepped up to the plate when we needed them most. Each individual has the potential to win every week and that is fun to coach."
Chulya enjoyed another strong day for the Aggies. A birdie on the par-5 9th helped her make the turn even while another birdie on the par-3 12th pushed her a shot under par. She had two bogeys and four pars the rest of the way, helping bring her in with a 73. It's her best career finish, besting a pair of eighth-place ties she had last season.
Vatananugulkit tied for fifth at the Golfweek Conference Challenge last month but did that one better this week with her fourth-place showing. She was 4 over after nine holes in the final round but birdied the 11th, 13th and 15th holes to get back to just 1 over, finishing 2 over for the day.
Simanton added another strong finish for UC Davis with her third top-15 placing of the season. She had a birdie and 13 pars to help pace her final round. Runas and Lewis each had a birdie in their final-day 79s as they helped the Aggies to the win.
Wednesday's win at Boulder Creek Golf Club was the 12th in the seven-season varsity history of the program and its eighth since joining NCAA Division I in 2007-08. The 15-stroke margin of victory was the sixth time the Aggies have won by at least that many shots.
UC Davis also won the season-opening Ptarmigan Ram Fall Classic at Colorado State in September and was a second the following week at the Golfweek Conference Challenge. The Aggies finished among the top six places in each event this fall and always in the top 10.
The Aggies will take a break from competition before resuming their 2011-12 season at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge hosted by Ohio State in February.
LAS VEGAS COLLEGIATE SHOWDOWN
Henderson, Nev. (hosted by UNLV)
Boulder Creek Golf Club
Par 72, 6,329 yards
Final
TEAMS
1. UC DAVIS, 277-290- 302-869
T2. San Diego State, 280-295-309-884
T2. Pepperdine, 281-293-310-884
4. Oklahoma, 287-293- 310-890
T5. Louisville, 288-301- 302-891
T5. UC Irvine, 286-288-317-891
T5. UNLV, 290-288-313-891
8. Long Beach State, 288-294-313-895
9. East Carolina, 296-298-305-899
10. Idaho, 286-292-324-902
11. Nevada, 291-307-314-912
12. BYU, 302-295-321-918
13. Missouri, 297-307-315-919
14. Fresno State, 297-306-319-922
15. Miami, 304-303-316-923
16. Colorado State, 295-309-324-928
INDIVIDUAL
1. Grace Na, Pepperdine, 63-72-74-209
UC DAVIS
3. Jessica Chulya, 71-68-73-212
4. Beverly Vatananugulkit, 68-72-74-214
T13. Amy Simanton, 68-76-76-220
T20. Demi Runas, 70-74-79-223
T43. Blair Lewis, 72-77-79-228
