HBU Husky Invitational
Shake secures fourth, Kats fifth at HBU
3/29/2016 7:34:00 PM | Women's Golf
The Sam Houston State women's golf team finished fifth at the HBU Husky Invitational, shooting 73-over, 937, while Heather Shake led the charge, taking fourth individually in the squad's second-to-last regular-season tournament of the season.
The result marked Shake's fourth top-five finish this season. The UH-Victoria transfer shot 74-77-73 for a two-day score of 8-over, 224, her lowest three-round score in three tournaments. Shake finished just six strokes back of Lamar's Wenny Chang, who won the individual title at 2-over, 218.
“Heather had a good ball-striking week,” associate coach Tommy Chain said. “She came back strong with a final round 73. She hit a lot of good shots. She hung in there for another really solid round.”
Host Houston Baptist ran away with the team title, shooting 42-over, 906, from Riverbend Country Club. Lamar finished second (54-over, 918) followed by UTRGV (66-over, 930) and Stephen F. Austin (72-over, 936). The event marked the fourth straight top-five finish for the Bearkats.
“The benefit is playing against and with the other conference schools to see how we match up,” Chain said. “We size each other up and see what we need to improve on. You see how they score. After this performance, we're going to work on some short-game drills and target drills to get sharpened. It is kind of an eye-opener to see our strengths and weaknesses with two weeks left.”
Two more Bearkats finished in the top 20 including Sarah Black (74-77-82 – 233) at 17-over in a three-way tie for 14th and Nicole Budnik (78-79-78 – 235) at 19-over to finish tied for 18th. The finish was Black's fourth straight top-25 finisher while Budnik notched her seventh top-20 finish in nine tournaments.
Elsewhere, Celeste Lo (82-81-82 – 245) recorded a season-best 34th place finish, taking 34th at 29-over, 245. Teammate Jenna Phillips (83-81-84 – 248) finished tied for 38th at 32-over.
“Her ball-striking has improved a lot this year,” Chain said of Lo. “It is the biggest difference from her. She is much more consistent tee to green.”
The Bearkats conclude regular-season play beginning Monday at the Web.com Intercollegiate. The two-day event, hosted by Jacksonville and the University of North Florida, takes place at Marsh Landing Country Club in Jacksonville, Fla.
“We're excited to be two weeks out from conference,” Chain said. “I am expecting with hard work and one more strong tournament that I am confidence we can bring it all together as a team at the conference championship and be competitive out there.”
