Newcomers Highlight @UNC_Bears_Golf Ron Moore Invite

Friday, October 7

Denver, Colo.

All Day

University of Northern Colorado

Ron Moore Invitational

10/9/2016 8:32:00 PM | Women's Golf

By: Kobee Stalder, UNCBears.com

FINAL RESULTS

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. – The women's golf program completed Denver's Ron Moore Invitational with rounds of 308 and 294 to finish tied for 14^th overall with a team total of 910 (308, 308, 294).

How It Happened:
Freshman, Morgan Sahm had the best two rounds to finish out the tournament. Sahm notched a 76 (+4) in round two and came into the clubhouse on Sunday with a 72 (E).

Sahm recorded a team-high four birdies in the third round, and holed 12 pars to go along with it, including six straight on the front nine.

The freshman had the highest placing of any Bear at the tournament, coming in 50^th on the leaderboard with a total of 225 (77, 76, 72 = +9).

Fellow classmate, freshman, Marisa Hisaki was the other top golfer for Northern Colorado. Hisaki played out her final two rounds with scores of 77 (+5) and 74 (+2).

Hisaki came away with 25 pars and two birdies in her final rounds of the event, including a streak of eight straight, which she accomplished in round two. She placed 57^th with a final score of 227 (76, 77, 74 = +11).

Janet Yeo and Kala Keltz tied in the standings. The pair came in at 65^th place. Yeo, a sophomore, shot a 78 (+6) and a 72 (E) in the last two rounds of the 54-hole tournament. The 72, tied Sahm as the low round of the tournament for UNC. She finished with a 229 (79, 78, 72 = +13).

The senior, Keltz also tallied a 229 (76, 77, 76 = +13), completing the last half of the tournament with a 77 (+5) and 76 (+4).

Rounding out the team was junior, Christina Ferreira. Ferreira placed 101^st , finishing her last 36 holes with an 80 (+8) and an 82 (+10). For the tournament, Ferreira signed off on 252 (90, 80, 82 = +36).

Individually, UNC sent Hanna Atkins to compete in the invite as well. Atkins carded a 77 (+5) and an 83 (+11) in the remaining two rounds. She finished 100^th overall with a final of 247 (87, 77, 83 = +31).

Pepperdine won the outright team title as they led from start to finish. The Waves fired a team score of 854 (-10) at the Highlands Ranch Golf Club. Individually, Denver's Sophie Newlove captured the individual title. Newlove shot a 210 (-6), winning by two strokes.

Game Changer:
Janet Yeo and Morgan Sahm came up big for the Bears in the third and final round of the competition. Both players shot a 72 (E) and helped the team to its only sub-300 round of the tournament. The 294 was also a season-low round for the team.

Key Stat:
UNC led all teams in pars in the final round of the tournament, holing 64 as a unit. Individually, Morgan Sahm and Marisa Hisaki each finished with 12 pars in round three.

Coach Bidne's Thoughts:
On the second round
"We had the opportunity to move up the leaderboard – we got off to a smooth start and were making good decisions all around. Once we hit the back nine we had a tough time keeping up that momentum. We need to go out there and play fearless golf and trust our game. The girls are hitting it well. It's just the belief and trust that is the missing puzzle piece. A good round will give us great confidence heading into our last tournament of the fall."

On the third round
"It was encouraging to see the younger players step up and play well today. We needed a good round to catch some teams and fortunately two birdies on our closing two holes helped us accomplish that feat. All three rounds the speed of the greens got the best of us. We were hitting the ball as good as quite a few teams at top of the leaderboard, but our lack of confidence with the putter seemed to be our nemesis. Today was a glimpse of what I know this team is capable of and I'm proud of them for fighting back and posting our season low round following a rough first two rounds."

Up Next:
The women's golf team will compete in its final tournament of the fall season, heading to California to play in the Lady Mustang Invitational hosted by Cal Poly Oct. 22-23.