Southland Conference Championship
Shake, Bearkats finish fourth in McKinney
4/13/2016 7:46:00 PM | Women's Golf
The Sam Houston State women's golf team finished tied for fourth, climbing the leaderboard for the second straight day at the 2016 Southland Conference Women's Golf Championship at the Hills Course at Stonebridge Ranch Country Club in McKinney, Texas.
The Bearkats (317-299-310), who entered the second round in seventh, fired a 54-hole score of 62-over, 926, finishing knotted with Stephen F. Austin. Lamar won the league championship for a fourth straight year behind a 34-over, 898.
Sam Houston's Heather Shake (75-73-76), competing in her first season after transferring from UH-Victoria, finished fourth overall at 8-over, 224. The Bearkats' Sarah Black (77-73-79) also recorded a top-10 finish, taking a tie for eighth at 13-over, 229.
Lamar's Wenny Chang (72-70-72) won the individual title, carding a 2-under, 214. Fernanda Lira (76-72-72 – 221) of Central Arkansas and Taylor Stockton (72-71-80 – 223) from Lamar rounded out the top three.
The Bearkats' Nicole Budnik climbed ahead two spots, finishing tied for 18th at 18-over, 234. After shooting an opening-round 83, the senior rebounded with a second-round 74 and final-round 77. Teammate Jenna Phillips (83-79-78) moved up five spots, finishing tied for 24th at 24-over, 240.
Sam Houston's Celeste Lo (82-83-79) took a tie for 30th, climbing the leaderboard eight spots on the day while finishing at 28-over, 244. A weather delay at 11:30 a.m. postponed play until 1:50 p.m. with all teams still on the course.
The program concludes its 2015-16 campaign notching two tournament titles, doing so at the Bob Hurley ORU Shootout (Sept. 28-29) in Tulsa, Okla., and at the All There August Challenge (Feb. 14-15). In Tulsa, competing in her first collegiate tournament, Shake won the event.
The Kats, who have two Southland titles to their name, improved one spot from last year's fifth-place finisher. Sam Houston's three-day score of 926 was the sixth lowest in 15 years competing at the league championships.
