March 20, 2012
San Diego, Calif. - Washington ended up tied for 10th in the rain-shortened Battle at Rancho Bernardo Inn after shooting a 304 in Tuesday's final round. The 17th-ranked Huskies moved up three spots after entering the day tied for 13th out of 16 teams. Washington collectively was 9 strokes better than Monday's first round. UW improved greatly down the stretch after shooting +24 on the last nine yesterday. Today, the group was +10 on the final nine, but only +3 of that total counted towards the teams' score. "We avoided some of the big numbers that we took on that side yesterday," UW head coach Mary Lou Mulflur said. "I feel like we made some good progress today and they battled harder." Kelli Bowers paced the Huskies efforts both days, following up Monday's 76 with a 74 at the par-72 Championship Golf Course. She shot par golf through her first 10 holes before alternating bogeys and birdies over the next four holes. Bowers bogeyed two of the final four holes to end up +2 for the day.
"Kelli had a good couple of days," Mulflur said of her junior who tied for 19th out of 90 competitors and was +6 (150) for the tournament. "She played really steady for us." Freshmen Jennifer Yang and SooBin Kim tied for 30th after shooting 153 (+9) during the two days. Yang shot 3-over 75 and Kim shot 4-over 76. Senior Sadena Parks, playing in her first spring tournament for the Huskies, shot 79 for the day, but really helped steady the ship on the back nine. After making the turn at +7 with a pair of double bogeys and three bogeys, Parks shot even-par golf over the last nine holes. "Sadena shook some rust off down the stretch. She showed some good signs and really helped us stay on track towards the end of the round," said Mulflur. Parks tied for 72nd. Freshman Cyd Okino shot he second 83 of the tournament and ended up tied for 82nd. USC beat Arizona State by 2 shots to win the team title and also possessed the individual medalist Sophia Popov. Popov was -2 and beat Patricia Garcia of Texas A&M by 2 strokes. The tournament was originally scheduled to begin on Sunday, but rain forced officials to cancel the first round and shorten the tournament to 36 holes. The Huskies will spend a couple of days in Palm Desert for spring break before returning home. Washington next plays in the Lady Sun Devil Invitational March 30 through April 1.
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