Women’s Golf Successfully Defends Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate Title; Le Rallies For Individual Honors

Women’s Golf Successfully Defends Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate Title; Le Rallies For Individual Honors

PALM DESERT, Calif. – It was a good day for Santa Clara women's golf as they successfully defended their team and individual title at the Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate. Senior Kristin Le carded the best round of the tournament with today's 3-under 69 to capture her third career individual medal and the Broncos held on for a 2-shot victory over Hawai'i.

"Absolutely incredible!" head coach Krystal Kelly said. "They played well and I'm very proud of them. They gained a tremendous amount of experience today."

It was a two team race for the championship and the Broncos used a pair of birdies from Le on the final three holes to hold off the Warriors for their seventh team title since the start of the 2015-16 season and their 12th under Kelly.

Le entered the day tied for eighth-place and leapfrogged a handful of golfers to claim individual medalist honors for the third time in her career. She finished at 3-over 219, two strokes better than Kaci Masuda of Hawai'i.

"Kristin was rock solid all day making two birdies in her last three holes," Kelly noted.

Second-round leader Marni Murez shot an 83 on Sunday to fall into a tie for eighth at 11-over 227 with teammate Kyleigh Moreno, who earned her third career top-10 finish.

Sophomore Chloe Wong was the fourth member of the Broncos to place in the top-20. She tied for 17th at 16-over 232.

Sarah Busey climbed 16 spots on the leaderboard with her final round 4-over 76 to finish in a tie for 35th with a 240 total. Competing as individuals in their first collegiate tournaments, freshmen Grace Fitzgerald carded a 247 total while Vanessa Giampaoli ended with a 266.

The Broncos return to action on October 9 competing in the New Mexico State Aggie Invitational in Las Cruces, N.M.

Santa Clara Final Individual Results

1.     Kristin Le                     77-73-69 = 219 (+3)

T8.   Marni Murez                 73-71-83 = 227 (+11)

T8.   Kyleigh Moreno           74-77-76 = 227 (+11)

T17. Chloe Wong                79-74-79 = 232 (+16)

T35. Sarah Busey                84-80-76 = 240 (+24)

55.   Grace Fitzgerald*         82-78-87 = 247 (+31)

74.   Vanessa Giampaoli*     91-90-85 = 266 (+50)

*competed as an individual