The Fresno State women’s golf team finished third in the Washington State Cougar Cup on Tuesday.

Bulldogs’ sophomore Joanna Kim finished with a 54-hole 3-under (73-69-71=213), earning herself a second-place finish in the tournament.

“I was thrilled to see Joanna finish second in the field,” head coach Emily Milberger-Loftin said. “I’m so proud to see her put three rounds of solid golf together after a summer of so much hard work.”

On Monday, the ‘Dogs were five strokes behind the 36-hole leader, Washington State, at the par 72, 6,200-yard Palouse Ridge Golf Club.

Kim shot a 69 (-3) on Monday, a career low for the sophomore. The ‘Dogs’ Kim was four strokes behind leader Cherokee Kim of Washington State, who shot a 65 in the second round leaving her 6-under-par.

Fresno State’s Kim posted a first round 1-over 73, and followed with a 3-under 69. She heated up on the back nine on the second round and had six birdies on the day, including a 2-under 142 after her first two rounds.

Hannah Sodersten, who finished in second place at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic, was tied for sixth place following the first round. Sodersten had a 36-hole 144 even-par outing.

She started out shooting a 74, leaving her 2-over in the opening round. Sodersten would bounce back shooting a 2-under 70. This would be her second under par round for the season.

Following her first round, the ‘Dogs’ Kim posted another under-par score in Tuesday’s final round. This marked Kim’s second and third under-par rounds in her Fresno State career. Kim recorded 12 birdies at the Cougar Cup, second-most among the 88-player field.

Sodersten was also in the Top 10 for the second consecutive week. For the week, the senior was 4-over (74-70-76=220). Bulldog teammate Gudrun Bjorgvinsdottir was one shot behind Sodersten. Bjorgvinsdottir carded a 5-over for a 12th-place finish.

Kim joins three former Bulldog women golfers who have accomplished the same performance in the history of the golf program: Madchen Ly (2014-15, 213), Laura Luethke (2004-05, 211,213) and Jennifer Shipley (2006-07, 205).

The Bulldogs finished the WSU Cougar Cup with an 18-over 882 behind Idaho, which finished with a 16-over 880. The winner of the Cougar Cup was Washington State which finished with a 2-over 866.
The ‘Dogs had a 20-stroke improvement from the season opener at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic, in which they finished in ninth place.

“I’m really excited to see such an improvement over last week’s performance,” Milberger-Loftin said. “Now I’m looking forward to next week’s event and building off of this week’s play and cap September on a high note.”

Up next for the Bulldogs will be the Rose City Collegiate on Sept. 28-29 hosted by Portland State.