The Fresno State women’s golf team didn’t quite crack a top-tier finish in the two-day, 15-team Fresno State Lexus Classic at the Copper River Country Club.
Fresno State finished in eighth place, a position it firmly held through the third round of the tournament Tuesday.
Freshman Hannah Soderston tied for ninth place (in a field of 72 golfers) in individual standings.
Soderston finished the tournament firing seven-over par, 223 (77-76-70).
In the final round, Soderston fired 2-under par and moved 19 spots ahead on the leaderboard after making three birdies on Tuesday after concluding the first two rounds on Monday in 28th place.
It was the highest individual placing for the Bulldogs, and Soderston achieved it in the third round — where her only bogey was on the four-stroke 16th hole.
“Hannah had a great round today,” Fresno State coach Angie Cates Moore said. “She really hit the ball solid, made a lot of great putts and her 2-under par was really solid out here.”
Madchen Ly, who led the Bulldogs in individual standings on Monday, finished the tournament in a tie for 29th place at 13-over par, 229 (75-76-78).
Fresno State finished the Lexus Classic at 51-over par, 915 (312-301-302).
“We didn’t play as well as we hoped to this week, but I think it was still really good experience for us,” Cates Moore said.
“I’m glad we went through it because I think it is going to help us prepare better for conference now.”
Long Beach State won the tournament at 28-over par, 892 (298-299-295), one stroke below Tulsa.
Long Beach State’s Simone Hoey took the tournament’s individual title at 5-over par. Hoey made 12 birdies in the tournament.
Also participating in the tournament were Cal Poly, Colorado State, CSU Fullerton, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon State, Sacramento State, San Jose State, Wyoming, UC Riverside and UC Irvine.
Fresno State will next compete in the April 25-27 Mountain West Conference Championships at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage.
“We’ re really excited to head down to the Palm Springs area to play at Mission Hills,” Cates Moore said.