Results

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Despite facing a tournament field that featured eight other programs ranked in Golfweek's preseason top 50, the UC Davis women's golf team had a strong season-opening event by finishing third on Tuesday at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational hosted by the University of New Mexico.

The Aggies, using all five members that helped them captured their fifth straight Big West Championship last spring, matched their best round of the 54-hole tournament with a par-292 team score. That helped them finish 6 over for the event and a shot in front of two-time defending tournament champion and 12th-ranked Pepperdine.

UC Davis, ranked 41st, also finished in front of No. 15 Oklahoma State (6th), No. 26 Iowa State (11th) and No. 34 Cal (8th). Northwestern, ranked 14th, finished first at 8 under while UNLV was second eight shots off the pace. Sixteen teams were entered in the highly competitive tournament.

Senior Blair Lewis and junior Andrea Wong shot final-round 1-under 72s on Tuesday, tying for seventh (-1) and ninth (E), respectively. It was a career-best finish for Lewis whose previous best was a tie for ninth at the Big West Championship in April. It was Wong's fourth top-10 performance.

Sophomore Paige Lee shot 73 and tied for 12th at 2 over for her sixth career showing in the top 10, Betty Chen finished with a 76 and tied for 34th at 6 over, and senior Beverly Vatananugulkit had a 75 and tied for 54th at 11 over.

UNLV's Dana Finkelstein shot 70 on Tuesday and finished first at 9 under. She posted a three-shot win over Suc Tangkamolprasert of Northwestern.

Lewis had a steady round that had three birdies and just two bogeys to mix in with 13 pars. She played the front nine of the UNM Championship Course two shots below par. Wong was also 2 under on the front nine and had five birdies including three over a four-hole span early in her round.

Lee had three straight birdies on the ninth through 11th holes to help spark her day. She carded four birdies overall. Chen was even on the course's back nine while Vatananugulkit played consistently while finishing with 16 pars and just two bogeys.

UC Davis will head to the University of Michigan on Monday and Tuesday next week for the first annual East & West Match Play Challenge, a new event that will help prepare teams for the reformatted NCAA Championships next spring.

BRANCH LAW FIRM/DICK McGUIRE INVITATIONAL