FRESNO, Calif. – Trailing by as much as four strokes during the final round, and one with five holes to play, the Fresno State women's golf team rallied back to earn the program's first team title since 2016, winning the Fresno State Classic on Tuesday at San Joaquin Country Club. It is the sixth time the Bulldogs have won their annual tournament.
Fresno State entered the day trailing Grand Canyon by two strokes but saw that double during the round. As winds picked up in the second half of the round with rain making its way into the Central Valley late in the afternoon, the 'Dogs remained steady.
Trailing the Antelopes by one with five holes remaining, Nicola Kaminski, Katelyn Lehigh and Harriet Lynch each shot even par to close their rounds. Katelyn Harris was 2-over during the final five holes. GCU in turn shot a combined 8-over par as Fresno State walked away with a five-shot victory.
Carding the third-best round of the day (+1), Lynch finished runner-up at 1-under par for the week. It was the senior's best finish of her career.
At 2-over for the round, junior Nicola Kaminski placed 11th at 6-over par. Lehigh had the Bulldogs' third Top-20 finish, placing 20th at 9-over par.
Notes
Fresno State won its first tournament since winning the Fresno State Classic on March 8, 2016.
Like Tuesday, that team title in 2016 was also won at San Joaquin Country Club.
The Bulldogs won their sixth Fresno State Classic in 18 editions of the tournament.
Harriet Lynch claimed the first runner-up finish of her career.
It was the third time this year that Lynch has placed in Top 5, and fifth Top 10 in eight tournaments.
Lynch shot below par for a tournament for the third time this season, and first since late September.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will turn around and head to Maricopa, Arizona for the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic, the second of four straight weeks with a tournament.
Fresno State Scoring
2. Harriet Lynch -1 (71-71-73)
T11. Nicola Kaminski +6 (75-73-74)
T20. Katelyn Lehigh +9 (71-77-77)
T38. Lory Paradis +14 (75-73-82)
T73. Katelyn Harris +21 (80-80-77)
T22. Jinyoung Yun +10 (74-76-76)
Top 5 Team Standings
1. Fresno State +23 (292-294-301—887)
T2. Grand Canyon +28 (294-290-308—892)
T2. UC Riverside +28 (298-301-293-892)
4. Long Beach State +32 (297-291-308—896)
5. Xavier +34 (300-290-308—898)