SAN MARCOS, Texas — Paced by even-par scorecards from Daniela Abonce and Victoria Schudt, the UTSA women’s golf team moved up the leaderboard on the final day of the Jim West Challenge, which wrapped up Monday at Kissing Tree Golf Club (par 72/6,111 yards).
The Roadrunners registered a 293 in the final round to pass New Mexico and Notre Dame in the team standings, jumping from 13th to 11th with an 896. UTSA ended up one shot ahead of the Lobos and Fighting Irish, who tied for 12th, and 16 strokes behind 10th-place Ohio State.
Abonce and Schuldt each turned in a 72 on Monday to lead the way, while Kayla Black and Lauren Rios provided the other two counting scores with a 74 and a 75, respectively.
Abonce was UTSA’s top finisher, leaping five spots into a tie for 30th at 5-over-par 221 with her second straight 72. The senior from Mexico wrote down three birdies in her final round to give her eight for the week. Starting on No. 14, she posted a pair of pars before logging a four on the 473-yard, par-5 17th. After a string of three more pars, she made four on the 493-yard, par-third and then got to 3-under for the day with a birdie on the 486-yard, par-5 fifth before settling for three bogeys down the stretch.
Kayla Black earned a share of 51st with a 10-over 226. The freshman from Canada started her week with her best round of the season, a 2-under 70 on Sunday morning. She then bounced back from an 82 with a 74 in the final round that featured a trio of birdies, all as part of a 2-under 34 on the front side of the course. She ended the event with nine birdies and played the par fives at even par.
Schuldt and Lauren Rios finished in a tie for 56th with a 227.
Schuldt, a freshman from Germany, opened with rounds of 77 and 78 before turning in her even-par scorecard on Tuesday. She wrote down four of her team-high 11 birdies on the final day, going back-to-back on Nos. 17-18 and again on the third and fourth holes.
Rios, a senior from Coppell, Texas, recorded a pair of 75s after opening with a 77 on Sunday morning. Her final-round scorecard was highlighted by three birdies, including two in a row on the 17th and 18th holes.
Maria Bastarrica rounded out the UTSA lineup in a tie for 62nd (77-77-76—230).
No. 5 Texas A&M captured the team title in the field that included six nationally ranked squads. Houston’s Natalie Saint Germain claimed the individual crown with a 10-under 206 (69-69-68).
The Roadrunners will return to action on Jan. 30-31 when they travel to Guadalajara, Mexico, to compete in the Collegiate Invitational at GCC.
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