Women’s golf nets sixth-place finish

James Ogletree, Staff Writer

The  No. 1-ranked Alabama women’s golf team finished sixth at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational on Sunday in Austin, Texas.

With First-Team All-Americans Lauren Stephenson and Kristen Gillman out of the lineup, it was the first time the Crimson Tide finished a tournament outside the top five since October 2016. The team’s three-day aggregate total of 903 (39-over-par) was 48 shots behind eventual champion and event host Texas.

No. 16 Kent State, No. 28 Baylor, No. 7 Florida and No. 38 Texas Tech rounded out the top five.

“I think we learned some things we needed to improve moving forward,” Alabama head coach Mic Potter said. “We had a really good effort in the final round and it was a big improvement from where we were at the beginning of the week. “We have to focus on to getting better every day and improving as we move along so in the spring we’re at our best.”

Junior Kenzie Wright led the team for the first time this year, tying for fourth in the 75-player field at 2-under-par 214, seven shots behind the champion, Texas’ Hailee Cooper.

Wright also finished 13th at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate in September after entering the final round one stroke behind the lead.

Junior Jiwon Jeon, the third-ranked player in the country by Golfstat, finished tied for 12th at 219 (3-over-par). Sophomore Angelica Moresco tied for 17th, two shots behind Jeon at 5-over-par.

Freshmen Mary Mac Trammell and Carolina Caminoli made their collegiate debuts, finishing tied for 70th (33-over-par) and 75th (57-over-par), respectively.

Alabama will conclude its fall schedule at the East Lake Cup from Oct. 29-31 in Atlanta. The field is limited to the previous year’s semifinalists in the NCAA Championship.