FRESNO, Calif. – Rutgers women's golf took home eighth place out of a crowded field of 21 at the Fresno State Classic on Tuesday afternoon.
Leigha Devine led the Scarlet Knights with a runner-up finish, wrapping up her tournament just two strokes behind the event winner.
Cathi Graf finished in a tie for 49th,
Rikke Nordvik and
Lucrezia Rossettin both tied for 56th, while
Lorena Rossettin finished tied for 62nd.
"While this wasn't the finish we were looking for, it was still a good experience for this group," head coach
Kari Williams said. "We need to continue working on starting and finishing our rounds without mistakes. This was another strong event for Leigha and she'll look to build on this as we head into the closing stretch of the spring."
The tournament wraps up a streak of three straight events in three weeks for RU, who will return to action to host the Rutgers Invitational on April 6 at the Rutgers Golf Course.
Round 3 – Tuesday, March 36
Weather: Low-60 degrees, partly cloudy, 5-15 mph winds
Devine continued her strong play on Tuesday and shot a 1-over 73 to finish just two shots shy of first place. She birdied holes No. 7 and No. 15 while collected 13 pars to secure the runner up finish.
"The last leg of our west coast swing was super fun; Fresno put on a great tournament and Copper River was quite the challenge," Devine said. "The greens were in impeccable shape and I wish I could have taken more advantage of that. My game is looking promising heading into our last three events. The team and I are ready for our debut at home next week and can't wait to see what we can do to finish out the season."
Cathi Graf also finished strong, shooting a 2-over 74 for the second straight round to move up into a tie for 49th place. She rolled in birdies on holes No. 8 and 10 to pace her round.
Rikke Nordvik and
Lucrezia Rossettin each shot a 3-over 75 in the final round and both finished in a tie for 56th at 11-over for the tournament.
Lorena Rossettin rounded out the team performers with a 7-over 79 in her final round to finish in a tie for 62nd.
Rounds 1 & 2 – Monday, March 25
Weather: Low-60 degrees, partly cloudy, 5-15 mph winds
Devine's strong and consistent play has her atop the leaderboard with one hole left in her second round for Tuesday morning. She started her day on hole No. 4 with a birdie and would birdie three of her first six holes. She rolled in five birdies on the round. She started her second round with a bang as well, eagling No. 4 to get off to a stellar start. She added birdies on No. 15 and No. 1 and will finish play at No. 3 when play resumes Tuesday.
Lorena Rossettin opened her day with an even-par 72 in the first round and sits in a tie for 16th. Her first round was highlighted by a run of three straight birdies on holes No. 1, 2 and 3.
Rikke Nordvik added three birdies in her first round, shooting a 3-over 75 and was in a tie for 50th when play was suspended.
Lucrezia Rossettin (t-64) and
Cathi Graf (t-87) round out the RU performers on day one.
2024 Fresno State Classic: Final Results
Copper River Country Club (Fresno, Calif.)
Par 72 | 6,276 yards
Field: Rutgers, Arkansas State, BYU, Cal Baptist, Cal Pol, Cal State Fullerton, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Nevada, Northern Arizona, No. 12 Pepperdine, Sacramento State, Santa Clara, UAB, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, Utah Valley, Washington State
Rutgers University Women's Golf /// Piscataway, N.J.
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