SAN ANTONIO — Super seniors Ana Gonzalez and Nicole Polivchak finished in the top 10 to help lead the UTSA women's golf team to a runner-up finish at the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational, which wrapped up on a windy Wednesday at San Antonio Country Club (par 72/6,131 yards).
Gonzalez tied for sixth place and Polivchak finished in sole possession of ninth to help lead the Roadrunners to their second straight runner-up showing at their annual home tournament and their fourth consecutive and fifth overall top-five placement of the season.
Meanwhile, Hunter Nugent led all UTSA players by tying for fourth place while competing as an individual. The junior transfer ended up with a 4-over-par 220 to share fourth with Texas State's Matilda Svahn, who also played outside her team's lineup. Nugent, a native of Canada, carded rounds of 72, 71 and 77 and paced the entire field with 10 birdies for the week, including a pair in the final round on a day that saw an average score of 79.8.
The Roadrunners turned in an 896 (282-298-316) for the week to finish second behind Sam Houston (885), which captured the team title behind a 1-2 finish from Jennifer Herbst (213) and Zulaikah Nasser (218). UTSA was one shot ahead of UIW (897) in the nine-team field. UNLV (906), Oral Roberts (912), SMU (918), Middle Tennessee (919), Texas State (923) and Iowa (940) rounded out the team standings.
Gonzalez logged her second top-10 finish in a row, giving her 14 for her UTSA career. The Monterrey, Mexico, native opened the 54-hole event with a 2-under 70, followed by a 76 before turning in the team's low round of the day with a 3-over 75 that featured a birdie on the 492-yard, par-5 16th hole. The four-time all-conference selection led the Roadrunners with 40 pars and she played the par fives at 4-under.
Polivchak posted the top finish of her final campaign after shooting a 6-over 222. The Sarasota, Fla., native got the week started off with a career-best 69 on Tuesday morning and then carded a 75 in the second round before capping off the event with a 78 on the strength of three birdies. The ninth-place showing was her third top 10 as a Roadrunner.
Camryn Carreon ended up in a tie for 19th place with a 228 (70-71-87), as the all-conference performer from San Antonio recorded her fifth top-20 finish of her junior season.
Morgan Ellison and Hannah Holzmann closed out the UTSA lineup in 28th (76-77-79—232) and 29th (73-76-84—233), respectively, while Katia Mexsen was 48th (74-79-89—242) while playing as an individual.
The Roadrunners will return to the course on April 18-20 when they travel to Florida for the Conference USA Championship at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens.
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