Sam Houston State golf continued its successful stride at its home tournament Tuesday at Raven Nest Golf Club.
After returning to Huntsville with first place honors last week, the Bearkat men won its second tournament in a row at the Harold Funston Invitational while the women came up just short to Houston Baptist.
The tournament did not start off great with a two-hour weather delay on Monday. Head coach Brandt Kieschnick said that his team actually played better after the delay.
The men’s team beat runner-up Tyler Junior College by 25 strokes. All five players for SHSU ended up in the top 15 of the tournament, while four ended in the top 10.
Senior Zach Cabra defended his individual title from last year at the tournament. Cabra was able to grab his second straight title at the tournament after he shot a 69 in both the first and final rounds, while shooting a 72 during the split round Monday and Tuesday. He believes this win and the last are helping push his team into the next tournament, he said.
“I’m looking forward to next week,” Cabra said. “The team is playing great. I’m so thankful that we have five guys who can really go out there and play.”
Sophomore Klein Klotz kept his score low with a 68 in the second round. He shot a 74 in the first round and ended with a 72.
Senior J.T. Taylor tied for sixth place after scoring better and better as the tournament proceeded. Taylor scored a 73 in the first round and a 72 and 71 in the second and last, respectively.
Senior Logan Boatner tied for 10th after shooting a 72 in the first round. He turned things around in the second round by shooting a low 68 in the second round. However, he could not finish strong, ending the tournament with a 78.
Sophomore Andrew Ertel was 13th after scoring a 76 in the first round, but improving his score back down with a 72 in the second round and a 71 in the last round.
The women’s Bearkat golf team was not able to claim back-to-back first place finishes. After ending the first day in the lead, SHSU fell in the second by a rise from HBU. The women’s team fell by 13 strokes.
Freshman Sarah Black had her top performance of her college career and led the team by placing in the top 10. Black shot a 73 in the first round followed by a 74 in the second round and finished with a 76.
With the weather delay Monday, Black was determined to make the most of however many holes she was able to complete in the first day, she said.
“I didn’t know if we were going to finish all 36 so I knew the holes we did get to play needed to count,” Black said.
Senior Alisa White finished in the top 10 also for her fourth straight tournament. She scored low with a 72 in the first round and a 73 in the last round, but was hurt with an 81 in the second.
Southland Conference’s September golfer of the month Paige Nelson was first in the tournament after one round but fell in the individual boards after a tough second day of competition. Nelson and sophomore Celeste Lo tied for 12th. Junior Nicole Budnik ended in 16th after shooting a high 82 in the second round.
The men’s golf team will be hosting again next week at the Miramont Country Club in Bryan. The women’s team will have a week off and end the fall schedule in Pensacola, Fl. at the University of Alabama – Birmingham Fall Beach Bash.
The SHSU men’s team will tee-off on Oct. 20 while the women will have to wait until Oct. 27-28 for their next action.