CORINTH, Texas — Led by Daniela Abonce’s 12-under-par, runner-up finish, the UTSA women’s golf team smashed the school record for best team score to finish in third place at the Sam Golden Invitational, which concluded Tuesday at Oakmont Country Club (par 72/6,413 yards).
A day after firing rounds of 6-under 282 and a school-record 13-under 275, the Roadrunners wrapped up the 54-hole event with an 8-under 280 to give put them at 27-under par 837 for the week. That total beat the previous school standard of 10-under 854 posted at the 2019 Conference USA Championship by 17 strokes.
UTSA finished third in the team standings, six shots ahead of Missouri (-21) and seven in front of a tie for fifth between Nebraska and Tulsa.
Individually, Abonce shared second place with Houston’s Nicole Abelar and Tulsa’s Allyn Stephens, as all three carded a 204. The sophomore from Veracruz, Mexico, fired three consecutive 4-under 68s en route to the second-best 54-hole score in program history behind Camryn Carreon’s 14-under 202 logged at the Trinity Forest Invitational this past spring.
Entering the day in third place, Abonce bounced back from a bogey on the opening hole by recording four birdies as part of a 3-under 33 on the front nine. The third-team all-conference performer added two more birdies against only one bogey on the back to move into the tie for runner-up honors in the 71-person field. She played the par fives at 9-under par and totaled 12 birdies and a pair of eagles for the week.
Morgan Ellison and Camryn Carreon added top-20 finishes to help the Roadrunners get the season started off on a positive note.
Ellison ended up in a tie for 13th at 7-under 209, her best 54-hole score as a Roadrunner by seven strokes. The Peachtree City, Georgia, native posted a 68-70—138 on Monday and closed with a 1-under 71 today that was highlighted by four birdies to give her a team-high 15 for the tournament.
Carreon, a senior from San Antonio, grabbed a share of 19th with a 5-under 211. The 2023 NCAA San Antonio Regional medalist carded a 74-68—142 on the opening day and then turned in a 3-under 69 on Tuesday that featured three birdies and an eagle on the 523-yard, par-5 13th hole.
Freshman Maria Bastarrica tied for 45th with a 2-over 218 (72-71-75) in her UTSA debut, while sophomore Olivia Williams rounded out the lineup in 54th at 4-over 220 (79-69-72).
Houston claimed the team title with a 48-under 816.
The Roadrunners will return to action on Sunday-Tuesday, Sept. 17-19, at the Badger Invitational in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.
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