By Andrew Hartley(@andrewhart1ey) – Spear Reporter
Kajsa Arwefjall reading over course notes before teeing off. Photo courtesy SJSU Athletics
It was a battle at Bayonet Golf Course between SJSU, Oregon and UC Berkeley for the entirety of The Molley Collegiate Invitational. Unfortunately for the Spartans, they finished on the bottom of the trio finishing third but shot an astounding 24-under par, 840.
SJSU came into Day 2 holding first place by just one hole over Berkeley and Oregon with four players in the top-12. Unfortunately, a rocky Tuesday containing a couple of triple bogeys forced the Spartans down the leaderboard to a point where they couldn’t climb back up. Both Berkeley and Oregon would tie for first shooting just 4 strokes better than SJSU.
“You win some, you learn some and we learned some today,” said SJSU head coach Dana Dormann.
The Spartans came into the matchup ranked No. 10 in the nation via Golfweek and backed it up with their performance. Monday, the team played 36-holes and on a day where it squeezed two rounds into one day, SJSU persevered.
The Spartans shot a 20-under par, 550, making it the fourth-lowest 36-hole score in the program’s history. Its 12-under par in round 2 tied for the second lowest score relative to par in program history.
“In the storied history of SJSU women’s golf, we’re really happy about that,” said Dormann, regarding their round 2 performance.
Once again, Lucia Lopez Ortega and Kajsa Arwefjall led the way as they both tied for second overall. Arwefjall shot a 67 Tuesday, tying her second lowest score in her SJSU career. This is the third time Lopez Ortega has finished top-5 in a tournament shooting a 9-under par.
Seven of the eight members of the team made the trip to Seaside, Calif.
Freshman Tessa Kremser finished tied 15th overall and shot the second best of any player on par 5s. Kremser shot a 69 Tuesday but competed as an individual, so her score did not count to the overall team score.
Freshman Moa Andersson also got her first tournament experience, finishing tied for 29th shooting a 218.
SJSU finished fourth in the ANNIKA Invitational to start the season and are now halfway finished with their fall season.
The Spartans will hope to continue their winning ways in the Illini Women’s Invitational October 9-10. The team also shot, ironically, a 12-under par in this tournament in 2022, setting the second best round in school history.