NORMAN, Okla. — Julie Houston fired an even-par 72 in the final round to help lead UTSA to 14th place at the NCAA Norman Regional, which wrapped up Wednesday at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club (par 72/6,367 yards).
Making their second consecutive and fifth overall NCAA postseason appearance, the Roadrunners posted a 299 in the final round and finished with a 903 (303-301-299), two shots ahead of No. 25 Pepperdine and just three strokes behind Texas A&M in the team standings. UTSA netted a two-shot improvement during each of the final two rounds en route to the program's second-best NCAA Regional finish and 54-hole score behind the 12th-place tally of 892 (298-295-299) last year in Austin.
Houston turned in UTSA's top Wednesday scorecard in what was her final action as a Roadrunner. The senior from Allen, Texas, registered four birdies, including three on the front nine. She wrote down a two on the 160-yard, par-3 second, a four on the 517-yard, par-5 eighth and a three on the 375-yard, par-4 ninth as part of a 35 on that side. The four-time all-conference performer also birdied No. 11 and finished in a tie for 55th at 10-over-par 226, as she bounced back from a 76-78—154 over the first two days.
Meanwhile, Hannah Holzmann finished as the top Roadrunner after carding a 225 to tie for 51st. The freshman from San Antonio opened with a 1-over 73 on Monday before turning in a 74 on Tuesday and a 78 in the final round that was highlighted by birdies on Nos. 5 and 8. She closed out her debut campaign by leading UTSA and ranking second among all players with 12 birdies for the tournament.
Ana Gonzalez also shared 55th place with Houston, as the sophomore from Monterrey, Mexico, carded a 226. The reigning Conference USA champion and two-time all-conference honoree used a birdie on the 156-yard, par-3 12th to headline a final-round 76 after opening with a 78-72—150 for the first 36 holes.
Madison Kidd was just one shot behind Houston and Gonzalez in a tie for 59th with a 227. After logging a pair of 77s through the first two days, the junior out of Lake Jackson, Texas, posted UTSA's second-best round of the final day with a 1-over 73 that featured a trio of birdies, including back-to-back on Nos. 3 and 4.
Brooke Nolte rounded out the UTSA lineup in a tie for 82nd with a 235 (77-78-80).
Top-seeded and second-ranked Texas won the team title with a 9-under 855. No. 10 Florida and No. 7 Wake Forest tied for second place (865), while No. 30 Purdue (866), 15th-ranked Arizona State (868) and No. 34 Mississippi (871) also advanced to the NCAA Championships by finishing in the top six.
Oklahoma's Kaitlin Milligan and Memphis' Olivia Mehaffey shared individual medalist honors after each posted an 8-under 208.
Under the direction of two-time C-USA Coach of the Year Summer Batiste, the Roadrunners finished the 2018-19 campaign with three wins, including their second straight conference title, and four additional top-five team finishes. All six members of the team were named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll and Houston and freshman Katia Mexsen earned the C-USA Academic Medal for maintaining a 3.75-or-better GPA.
Individually this season, Gonzalez captured a pair of individual crowns, including the C-USA championship, and collected first-team all-league accolades. Houston posted four top-10 finishes and garnered second-team all-conference and C-USA All-Academic Team honors. Holzmann was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team after registering three top 20s, including a runner-up showing at the Lady Maxwell Invitational.
