MADISON, Wis. — Camryn Carreon claimed the third individual crown of her collegiate career to help lead the UTSA women’s golf team to a fourth-place finish at the Badger Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday at University Ridge Golf Course (par 72/6,248 yards).
Carreon fired a 9-under-par 207 to secure her third win of the calendar year, holding off New Mexico State’s Emma Bunch by one shot in the 87-player field. After opening the 54-hole event with a 68-69—137, the senior from San Antonio carded a 2-under 70 on Tuesday for the narrow victory in front of Bunch, who closed out a 208 with a 5-under 67.
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— UTSA Women's Golf (@UTSAwomensgolf) September 19, 2023
UTSA senior @CamrynCarreon earned her third career win as a Roadrunner, carding a 9-under-par 207 for a one-shot victory in Wisconsin. #BirdsUp π€ pic.twitter.com/U2y2mAWiOZ
Carreon was one of three Roadrunners to post a red number in the final round, as Daniela Abonce and Olivia Williams each turned in a 1-under 71 to help UTSA record a 1-under 287 team score and move from a tie for sixth place into sole possession of fourth with a 12-over 876 for the week. The Roadrunners ended up three strokes in front of New Mexico State, seven better than Colorado State and 11 ahead of Indiana in the 15-team field.
Beginning on the seventh hole in the final-round shotgun start, Carreon recorded four straight pars before circling her first number of the day with a four on the 504-yard 11th. The first-team all-conference performer then added three more birdies to help offset a pair of bogeys en route to her fifth consecutive round below par this season.
“It feels so great to win again and to be competitive in this new conference,” said Carreon, an Incarnate Word High graduate. “I’m so proud of my teammates for sticking with it and not giving up. We saw some real improvement today on our overall scores. I know if we keep working hard we’ll continue to be competitive and eventually win one as a team.”
With the win, Carreon now joins Fabiola Arriaga and Julie Houston atop the UTSA record book for career victories. Additionally, her 9-under 54-hole total is tied for the fourth-best score versus par in program history behind her 14-under 202 logged in winning the 2023 Trinity Forest Invitational, Abonce’s 12-under 204 posted last week at the Sam Golden Invitational and Carreon’s 10-under 206 from her win at the NCAA San Antonio Regional in May.
“I'm very proud of Camryn and her grit throughout the week," head coach Summer Batiste said. "Winning wire to wire requires high self-belief and discipline, and she displayed that in some tough conditions. Mostly, I’m very proud of the entire team for their fight in climbing up the leaderboard this week. We have some great leadership on this team.”
Williams’ 71 helped the sophomore from England climb 13 places into a tie for 10th at 2-over 218 (73-74-71), the top finish of her young collegiate career. She wrote down four birdies in the final round and finished the week with eight while also sharing the team lead with Carreon with 37 pars.
Abonce also made a big leap up the leaderboard on the final day, as the sophomore from Mexico used a trio of birdies to highlight her 71 and move 16 spots into a tie for 26th at 6-over 222. It marked her second straight par-or-better scorecard after registering a 79 on Sunday.
Morgan Ellison finished in a tie for 61st with a 231, moving up 13 places on the final day of the tournament. The junior from Georgia posted a pair of birdies in a final-round 75 after opening with back-to-back 78s.
Maria Bastarrica rounded out the UTSA lineup in a tie for 78th (77-83-76—236).
South Florida captured the team title with a 4-under 860, followed by Wisconsin (+9) and Delaware (+10).
The Roadrunners will return to action on Oct. 9-10 when they travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the Dale McNamara Invitational.
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