KYLE, Texas – Viktoria Krnacova notched her first career top-10 finish as Little Rock notched an 8-over 296 over the final 18 holes to finish eighth at the Texas State Invitational at Plum Creek Golf Course. The Trojans finish the spring opener with a 34-over 898, their best team score of the 2020-21 season.
2021 Texas State Invitational Final Results (PDF)
Little Rock resumed the delayed second round early Tuesday morning and closed out the second 18 holes with a 14-over 302, led by a 2-over 74 from both
Agatha Alesson and
Kellie Gachaga, keeping the Trojans in contention. Krnacova posted a 3-over 75 while
Sydney Scraba added a 7-over 79.
Krnacova then caught fire in round three, posting nine pars and six birdies through her first 16 holes of the final round and sitting at 4-under with a double bogey on four her only blemish. She struggled on nine with a triple bogey, but recovered with a birdie on 10 in her final hole to card a career-low 2-under 70.
Her efforts earned her the first top-10 finish of her Trojan career, tying for seventh at 2-over 218. She shaved 16 strokes off her previous career-low of 234, set at the Callaway Gardens Invitational to close out the fall season.
Gachaga also had a strong final round with a 1-over 73, finishing with 11 pars, two birdies and three bogeys for her second-lowest round of the season. She just missed a top-20 finish by tying for 24th overall at 7-over 223, tying her season-low for a tournament set at Callaway Gardens as well.
Alesson had a good showing in her first collegiate tournament, tallying an 11-over 227 (75-74-78) to tie for 38th among the individual field. Scraba tied for 45th at 14-over 230 (76-79-75) while
Tilde Bocker rounded out the Trojan scorecard with a 24-over 240 (80-82-78).
The 898 for Little Rock was its lowest 54-hole tournament score of the season, besting the 901 at the Callaway Gardens Invitational October 19-21 to close out the fall season. It is the Trojans' first sub-900 tournament total since an 887 as the USA Intercollegiate September 15-17, 2018.
Little Rock finished six shots better than both ULM and Rutgers at 40-over 904, giving head coach
Jenna Wylie her first career win over a Power Five opponent. The Trojans finished three shots out of the top-six, trailing seventh-place Incarnate Word (32-over 896) by two shots and were three back of sixth-place Idaho (31-over 895).
Tulsa captured the team title with a 5-under 859, finishing two shots better than second-place UT-San Antonio (3-under 861). Sam Houston State (8-over 872), Texas State (10-over 874) and Central Arkansas (18-over 882) rounded out the top-five.
Little Rock will now have over a month before returning to competition, returning to Birmingham for the UAB Spring Invitational March 15-16 at Greystone Country Club.
2021 Texas State Invitational Little Rock Final Results
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