PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Led by top-three finishes from Camryn Carreon and Ana Gonzalez, the UTSA women's golf team placed second by one shot at the Conference USA Championship, which wrapped up on Wednesday at PGA National Resort's Champion Course (par 72/6,154 yards).
The No. 49 Roadrunners ended up with a 54-hole total of 936, one stroke behind No. 44 North Texas' 935 and comfortably ahead of a four-way tie for third at 955 between Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic and Old Dominion in the 12-team field. The runner-up showing marked UTSA's 14th consecutive top-four league finish and the seventh time the Roadrunners have placed in the top two in the team standings since the program's first season in 2005-06.
UTSA entered the final round with a two-shot advantage over UNT, and the two teams battled stroke for stroke throughout the round for the trophy.
The squads were deadlocked entering the final stretch of holes until the Mean Green took a two-stroke lead with two groups still on the course. Carreon birdied the 506-yard, par-5 18th hole to close out a 76 and help pull the Roadrunners even with UNT once again. However, the Mean Green's final player ended up with their non-counting score among the five-person lineup, and UNT finished with a 320 compared to UTSA's 323 to nab the team crown by only one shot.
Carreon claimed sole possession of runner-up honors with a 13-over-par 229 in registering her second straight top-10 finish at the conference tournament. The junior from San Antonio had two more birdies to go along with the circled number on her final hole in her closing-round 76 after opening with a 75-78—153. A second-team all-conference selection one year ago, her second-place showing earned her a spot on the C-USA All-Tournament Team.
Gonzalez also landed on the all-tournament squad by grabbing a share of third place with a 231. The super senior from Mexico posted rounds of 75, 73 and 83 to score her third top-five finish at the league's annual championship. A four-time all-conference performer, she led UTSA with eight birdies for the week with two on back-to-back holes to start her final round on Wednesday.
Nicole Polivchak earned her second top-20 conference finish in a row, placing 17th with a 239. The super senior opened with an 81 before logging rounds of 74 and 84. She finished with six birdies for the tournament and played the par threes at a team-best 3-over, the second-best showing in the field.
Hannah Holzmann tied for 24th with a 243 (77-80-86) and Hunter Nugent grabbed a share of 37th with a 248 (86-82-80) to close out the UTSA lineup.
The Roadrunners will await word of a possible NCAA Regional berth, which will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show at 3 p.m. next Wednesday, April 27, on the Golf Channel.
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