WGOLF Wraps up Fall in Las Vegas

Oct. 24, 2015

Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown
Oct. 25-27 | Boulder Creek Golf Club | Boulder City, Nev.

PAR AND DISTANCE:	Par 72; 6,277 yards
TEE TIMES:	12 p.m. Sunday, 8 a.m. Monday and Tuesday
LIVE SCORING:	BirdieFire.com
LAST TIME AT EVENT:	7th; 883 strokes (+19) Min, Santos T-8th; 216 (E)

ABOUT THE LAS VEGAS COLLEGIATE SHOWDOWN:

This is the second time Gonzaga has played in the UNLV-hosted event. They first made the trip to Boulder City last year when they finished in seventh on the strength of a final round 289 (+1), the sixth-best round in program history. Ciera Min and Raychelle Santos finished in a tie for eighth. Dania Uy also played in the tournament last season.
This tournament will feature one of the tougher fields of the season for Gonzaga as five teams in GolfWeek's current top 25 will be in Vegas, including Tennessee (12), San Diego State (13), UNLV (22), Missouri (24), and New Mexico (25). Three more are in the top 50, and 16 of the 19 squads are currently in the top 100. Three of GolfWeek's top 25 individual players will play, including the Bulldogs' own Bianca Pagdanganan, who is No. 17. Emma Henrikson of SDSU is the fifth-ranked player in Division I, and Tennessee's Anna Newell is 19th.

LAST TIME OUT:

The Zags picked up their best finish in 18 months Oct. 12-13 at the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational, finishing third with 901 strokes (+37). They shot 289 (+1) on the final day - the squad's best single round in nearly a year - to climb into third. Three Zags fired rounds of par or better to wrap up the Seattle U-hosted tournament.
Two Bulldogs finished among the top 10 at Tacoma Country and Golf Club as Min finished fifth and freshman Jena Gao tied for sixth. Those are the first top 10 finishes of the season for both players, and the first of Gao's career as well. Min has nine top 10s and five top 5s in her two-plus years as a Bulldog. Min shot 71 (-1) during the final day for a three-round tally of 221 (+5), while Gao finished with her second consecutive 72 (E). The Shanghai native ended the tournament at 222 (+6), just one stroke off Min's pace.
Senior Raychelle Santos picked up her best finish since last year's Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown, tying for 15th in Lakewood. The La Quinta, Calif., native shot 228 (+12) during the two-day competition.

17 AGAIN:

A freshman, Pagdanganan is off to an outstanding start to her collegiate career. She won the prestigious Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational during her second GU tournament, and she began the year with a tie for 12th. Her overall record of 154-11-5, as well as a 3-5 record against the best 25 golfers and 7-6 mark against the top 50, has boosted the Quezon City, Philippines native up to No. 17 in GolfWeek's individual player rankings. It's one of the highest fall rankings achieved by a Gonzaga golfer.

GET LOW:

All six Bulldogs have at least one round at par or better this season. Uy is the most recent Zag to reach par, shooting 72 (E) during the final round of the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational. That was her second career round at par or better. Redshirt senior Michelle Condry shot even-par 73 during the final round of the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in September, and Santos shot even-par 72 to open the Edean Ihlanfeldt earlier this month. Min has two under par rounds - including a 3-under-par 70 at the Dick McGuire Invite - while the two freshmen have three rounds of par or better apiece. Gao's shot even par thrice this year, and Pagdanganan's hit below par three times as well. Her 69 (-3) to open the Edean Ihlanfeldt is GU's first sub-70 round of the year.

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