DALLAS — Nikki Long tied for 13th to lead UTSA to a 14th-place showing at the Dallas Athletic Club/SMU Invitational, which concluded Saturday at Dallas Athletic Club (6,345 yards/par 72).
Long entered the day in 13th after carding a 72 and a 76 on Friday and the freshman fired a 75 on Saturday to remain in a tie for 13th at 7-over-par 223. Her final round featured three birdies to give her 10 for the event, the third-best total in the field. It also marked the second straight and third overall top-20 finish of the season for the San Antonio Johnson High School product.
Aimee Ponte was the next-highest placing Roadrunner, finishing in a tie for 52nd after posting the team’s low round of the day with a 2-over 74 to wrap up a 235 (85-76-74).
Brogan Townend tied for 65th (84-80-75), Libby Thomas finished 75th (80-89-77-246) and Becky McGeehan was 81st (86-81-86—253).
The Roadrunners posted a 12-shot improvement from their round two score and bettered their opening round by 20 strokes with a 301 on Saturday. They finished 14th at 935, seven ahead of Nebraska (942) and 25 in front of Conference USA rival North Texas (960).
No. 14 Oklahoma State captured the team title with an 11-over 875. No. 37 Purdue (883), No. 24 UC Davis (888), No. 40 Texas Tech (888), No. 27 Miami (900) and Houston (900) rounded out the top five.
August Kim of Purdue defeated Yupaporn Kawinpakorn of Kansas on the second hole of a sudden death playoff to claim the individual crown after both players finished 54 holes tied at 1-under 215.
The Roadrunners will travel to Fort Myers, Fla., to compete in the Conference USA Championship on April 20-22.
