Behind a 12th-place finish by senior Kalea Heu, the Utah Valley University women's golf team finished in sixth place out of 13 teams at the Pizza Hut Lady Thunderbird Invitational on Friday afternoon at Sunbrook Golf Club in St. George.
"Kalea is playing very well right now. The others in the lineup are really close," head coach Dr. Sue Nyhus said. "I was pleased that the girls were able to come through with a lot of good holes over long stretches. It was a good tournament but not our breakthrough event. Obviously that is coming soon."
The Wolverines tied for sixth place in the 36-hole tournament after carding a two-round total of 620 (+44). After recording an opening round 311 on Thursday, UVU put up a 309 during Friday's final round to finish the tournament in a tie for sixth place with Xavier.
South Dakota State won the 2016 Pizza Hut Lady Thunderbird Invite at 2-over par (578), while the host Southern Utah T-Birds took second (+20) and Northern Illinois placed third (+35). North Dakota State finished in fourth at 36-over par, while Montana State finished five shots ahead of the Wolverines for fifth place (+39). By tying for sixth, UVU finished ahead of Weber State, CSU Bakersfield, Creighton, Eastern Washington, North Dakota and Idaho State.
Heu led the Wolverines by tying for 12th at 7-over par with a two-round total of 151. After carding a 4-over 76 on Thursday, Heu finished one shot better Friday by putting up a 3-over 75. The Wolverine senior finished with one eagle and five birdies at the tournament.
Carly Dehlin was next for UVU by tying for 32nd with a 12-over 156 (79-77), while Ana Raga and Cassandra Lesa each tied for 34th at 13-over par (157). The freshman Raga and the senior Lesa carded rounds of 78 and 79 en route to tying for 34th. Kimberly Nyhus rounded out UVU's top five by tying for 56th with a 163 (78-85). Dehlin led all Wolverines at the tournament in birdies with six.
Monica Yeates and Pernille Echberg too participated in the Lady Thunderbird Invite, as individuals, and Yeates tied for 61st (85-80—165) while Echberg (83-85—168) tied for 71st.
The Wolverines now remain in St. George to take part at the BYU Entrada Classic on Monday and Tuesday, March 14-15, at Entrada at Snow Canyon Country Club.
James Warnick is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. For more information about Wolverine athletics, visit WolverineGreen.com.