Records Set as UNK Finishes the Year Seventh at Regionals

5/4/2022 2:33:00 PM

Kearney, Neb. – The 43rd-ranked Nebraska-Kearney women's golf team finished seventh at the 2022 NCAA Central Regional Tuesday in Hot Springs, Ark.

The 54-hole, three-day tournament was held at the par 72 Hot Springs C.C. The top three teams and the top two individuals not from those squads advance to the NCAA Championships next week in Georgia.

UNK had rounds of 318, 310 and 315 (943 total) to come in ahead of No. 49 Augustana (960) and No. 50 Southwestern Oklahoma State (966). Tourney host and No. 13 Henderson State won going away (882) with No. 23 Central Missouri (906) and No. 21 Rogers State (913) also headed to the NCAA's.

The 943 is fourth best 54-hole score in school history and just 10 shots from tying the record. A school-mark was shattered today as Puerto Rico senior Faviola Gonzalez finishes 2021-22 with a season stroke average of 77.04. That bests the 78.19 Nia Station turned in during the 2018-19 season.

Gonzalez paced UNK by tying for 19th (14-over 230; 78-77-75). She was among the tourney leaders in both pars (37) and par 4 hole scoring (4.20). Next, Kansas sophomore Allison Comer tied for 23rd (16-over 232; 82-77-73). Her 73 is a new school mark for 18-hole score in a regional. She had three birdies on the back nine and two on the front to move up 10 spots.

Gracen Blount of HSU was the medalist (1-over 217) with Susana Olivares of Central Oklahoma and Rosie Klausner of Central Missouri tying for second (3-over 219). Olivares and Jacqueline Klemm of Arkansas Tech (T-5th; 224) earned the national individual spots.

Also for UNK, Colombian freshman Juliana Botero Molina tied for 28th (18-over 234; 78-75-81), Kansas freshman Brooke King tied for 46th (247; 80-86) and Arizona junior Paige Lucero was 50th (260; 83-89-88). Along with Gonzalez and Comer, they each tie the school record for rounds played in a season (24). That mark was done four times previously.

On the single season stroke average list, Botero Molina ranks second (77.54), Comer third (77.83), King seventh (78.92) and Lucero 18th (80.82). Finally, this "starting five" is all slated to return in 2022-23 with Gonzalez taking advantage of her "COVID year."

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