KYLE, Texas — Led by top-10 finishes from Hannah Holzmann, Camryn Carreon and Nicole Polivchak, the UTSA women's golf team rallied for a runner-up showing at the Texas State Invitational, which concluded Tuesday at Plum Creek Golf Course (par 72/6,249 yards).
The Roadrunners entered the final day in fifth place at 10-over par, 22 shots behind Tulsa, which was 12-under par when play was suspended due to darkness midway through the second round on Monday. UTSA nearly completed a remarkable comeback while aiming for its third straight Texas State Invitational team title, making up 20 strokes on the Golden Hurricane, who held on for a two-shot victory.
UTSA still stood 14 shots back of Tulsa once round two was completed Tuesday morning and then turned up the heat over the final 18 holes with a school-record-tying 281 — the low round of the tournament — to finish at 3-under 861 (291-289-281). The Golden Hurricane posted a 5-under 859 (282-284-293) to claim the crown, while Sam Houston State (872), Texas State (874) and Central Arkansas (882) rounded out the top five in the 15-team field. UTSA's 7-under 281 matches school-record rounds posted at the 2019 Conference USA Championship and 2017 Ron Moore Intercollegiate, while the 861 now stands fifth on the program's list of 54-hole totals.
Individually, Holzmann finished in sole possession of third place in the 79-player field, as the junior carded a career-best 8-under 208 to notch her fourth career top 10, three of which have occurred in her last five tournaments dating back to last spring. After recording a pair of 70s through the first 36 holes, the San Antonio native fired a 4-under 68 to match her best round as a Roadrunner. She wrote down her second eagle of the week on the par-5 16th hole to go along with four birdies during her final round, ending up a tournament-best two eagles and 14 birdies, the third-highest total in the field.
Holzmann finished four shots behind runner-up Lorena Tseng of Tulsa and seven back of individual medalist Hanna Alberto of Sam Houston State. Her 68 is tied for the fifth-lowest round in UTSA annals and her 208, which is a five-shot improvement from her previous best posted in winning this tournament last year, equals the fifth-lowest 54-hole total in program history.
Meanwhile, Carreon logged a pair of 3-under 69s over her final two rounds to leap into fifth place with a career-best 4-under 212. The sophomore from San Antonio bettered her previous UTSA low round of 70 and 54-hole score of 216 established in a runner-up showing at the 2020 Maryb S. Kauth Invitational. Carreon recorded a team-best 36 pars, the third-best tally in the field, and 11 birdies, eight of which came during her final two rounds, and she also eagled the par-5 15th on her final trip around the course.
Polivchak carded a 2-over 218, the best 54-hole total of her UTSA career, to end up in a share of seventh place, her top finish as a Roadrunner. After opening with a 70 on Monday, the senior bounced back from a 76 with an even-par 72 that featured five birdies en route to her second top 10.
Ana Gonzalez tied for 31st with a 224 (78-74-72) and Live Hope was 71st with a 241 (77-82-82) to close out the UTSA lineup.
The Roadrunners will continue their season next Monday-Tuesday, Feb. 15-16, when they travel to Las Vegas for the Rebel Beach.
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