By Andrew Hartley(@andrewhart1ey) – Spear Reporter
Kajsa Arwefjall reading over course notes before teeing off. Photo courtesy SJSU Athletics
Playing against five of the top 10 teams in the nation, the SJSU women’s golf team started their season finishing fourth Wednesday at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate in Lake Elmo, MN.
Kajsa Arwefjall and Lucia Lopez-Ortega both finished tied for ninth, leading the way for the Spartans shooting a 6-under par 210.
Coming off a NCAA Regionals appearance, the Spartans immediately reestablished themselves amongst one of the best in the nation.
They placed as high as second after an excellent day one. But then the reality of this competitive field hit them.
SJSU shot only 1-over par Tuesday but it dropped them down to fourth with the 10th lowest score that day. Both Rebecca Gyllner and Darae Chung had three birdies on the back nine that day to close out nicely.
“We showed a lot of grit and comeback on the back nine,” said head coach Dana Dormann of the their day two struggles.
They did lose Antonia Malate, who has now moved on to a professional career after completing her fifth year. This left a large hole with who would contribute for the Spartans this season.
But the aforementioned Chung, who just arrived last spring, has already made an immediate impact.
In her first collegiate tournament, she finished within the top 30 of the field. The redshirt freshman scored the best of any Spartan during the first two days of the tournament.
Something they’ll look to improve on are their par 3s. They finished 15-over par on those holes, the lowest of any team participating.
“This is a really good start out here,” said Dormann. “We’re looking to build on some things we learned here.”
Arwefjall, who was named to the preseason watch list for the ANNIKA award, finished the best of any player on their par 4s. The award is given to the top female Division I golfer annually.
This is the second time that SJSU women’s golf have participated in this competitive tournament. 11 of the 12 schools in the field were ranked in the preseason top 25. SJSU came into the tournament ranked No. 24.
They will return to California for The Molley Collegiate Invitational in Seaside on September 25-26.