Gonzaga University
Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational Day 2
Zags Climb to Third at PLH Invitational
10/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
PLH Invitational Final Results 
LAKEWOOD, Wash.--The Gonzaga University women's golf team used its best round of the season to finish third during the final round of the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational at Tacoma Country and Golf Club.
As a team, the Zags counted 289 strokes (+1) on the day, their lowest round of the season and tied for the sixth lowest in program history. They jumped up two spots in the tournament's leaderboard, finishing third in the tournament with 901 strokes (+37). It's the squad's highest finish since taking second at the West Coast Conference Championship in April 2014.
Junior Ciera Min paced the Bulldogs Tuesday, firing a 1-under-par 71 to finish fifth at 221 (+5). The Hilo, Hawaii native posted four birdies--all in her first 11 holes--and three bogeys en route to a below par round, her second of the year. It was also her first top 5 finish of the season and second by any Bulldog in 2015-16.
Just one stroke away, Jena Gao tied for sixth with a tournament score of 222, six shots above par. Gao shot her second consecutive round of even-par 72 Tuesday, and she also led the entire field with 39 pars over 54 holes. The freshman posted 14 of those pars during the final round to clinch her first career top 10 finish.
Finishing among the top 15 for her first time this season, senior Raychelle Santos tied for 15th with 228 strokes (+12) during all three rounds. Santos shot 74 (+2) during the final round, one stroke better than her lowest score from day one of the tournament. The top 15 finish is Santos' best placement since tying for eighth at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown in October last season.
Climbing 24 spots up the leaderboard, sophomore Dania Uy finished in a tie for 40th after shooting even-par 72 during the final round, her lowest round of the season and second career round at par or better. Like Gao, Uy parred 14 holes Tuesday, adding both one birdie and one bogey on both the front and back nines.
Redshirt senior Michelle Condry rounded out the GU lineup, tying for 51st at 239 (+23). Condry shot 81 (+9) Tuesday, playing her first nine holes at two over par but taking a 10 on the par four No. 1. She did close strong, however, birdieing two of her final three holes.
"We had a very strong team round today," said Gonzaga women's golf head coach Brad Rickel. "Today was a good all-around team effort and definitely was the way we wanted to finish this event. Ciera had it going very low for a while and ended up with a round under par. Dania had a great round of 72 and was very much a help to the team, I'm very happy for her. Jena had a great round and was also under par for most of the day, and Raychelle battled the entire tournament and had a strong showing. I am very proud of how we competed today. That's what we needed to do."
Washington won the team competition with a three-round total of 865 strokes, one shot above par. Idaho finished in second place five strokes ahead of Gonzaga, and Cal Poly and Seattle finished fourth and fifth. Individually, the Huskies' Julianne Alvarez took medalist honors with a score of 211, five strokes under par. Fellow Huskies Sarah Rhee and Ying Luo finished second and fourth, respectively, while Idaho's Michelle Kim finished third.
The Bulldogs will wrap up their fall season Oct. 25-27 at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown. That 54-hole tournament will take place at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev.
