Springville, Utah — The UC Davis Aggies, led by first year Head Coach Demi Runas, came in third place at the Hobble Creek Classic. The first tournament of the year proved to be a great showing for the Aggies as this third place finish was better than any Aggie tournament placement last year.
Led by Naomi Danner and newcomer Skyler May, UC Davis shot a combined 52-over-par for the entirety of the tournament. UC Davis only trailed the second place finishers, Weber State, by three strokes.
Over the course of the tournament, Naomi Danner was able to record eight birdies and during round three was able to put together an astonishing round of 3-under-par to help boost the Aggies up the team leaderboards. Danner finished tied for sixth among all players.
Teammate Skyler May also found herself in the top 20 of individual players after shooting a 74 on day three. Capitalizing on strong Par 3 play, her 3-over-par performance propelled her up to 13th on the individual leaderboards.
Elle Rastvortseva and Abby Leighton also played consistent golf all weekend. Rastvortseva was tied for 26th among all players and after finishing 16-over-par. She recorded a 76 on day three and helped add onto the Aggie third place finish.
Leighton was another bright spot for the Aggies as the Big West First Teamer from a year ago was able to put together another solid performance of 76. Over the two days Leighton shot 78, 76, and 76. This 17-over-par score is something Leighton will look to build on after leaving a few strokes open on par 3's.
Marina Mata battled all weekend and was able to finish 39-over-par for the tournament. There were some bright spots after finding some success on the par 3's at Hobble Creek finishing only 6-over-par on all par 3 holes.
As a team the Aggies recorded 28 birdies, 149 pars, and were among the top half in each holes average scoring. After starting day three tied for seventh, a strong performance not only allowed UC Davis to race all the way up to a third place finish but will also be helpful momentum going into the next tournament.
UC Davis Women's Golf will return to action Sept. 18-20 when they visit Madison, Wisconsin for the Badger Invitational at University Ridge GC.
