UTSA women’s golf returned to the course on Monday, Feb. 15, and Tuesday, Feb. 16, in Las Vegas, Nev., to compete in the Rebel Beach Invitational, where they managed to shake off a slow start to the tournament to finish in sole possession of sixth place in the 13 team field.  Hannah Holzmann followed up her third-place finish last week during the Texas State Invitational with another top 10 finish this week, shooting a five over par 221 to finish in ninth place. Holzmann finished the tournament nine strokes behind individual winner Brigitte Thibault from Fresno State University. Holzmann has started the season off on a hot streak, continuing her strong finish from last season. Going back to last season, her latest top 10 finish now makes it four of her last six tournaments that ended with her in the top 10. 

Right behind her on the leaderboard was Ana Gonzalez. The senior’s tournament hit a rough patch during the second round when she hit a five over par 77, but she recovered nicely to card an even par 72 on the final day of the tournament. That 72 helped move Gonzalez into a three-way tie for 12th on the final day of the tournament. Gonzalez ended her tournament with a seven over par score of 223. 

UTSA entered the final day of the tournament in eighth place with a total team score of 600 after shooting back to back 300s in their first two rounds but turned in the best final round of any team in the competition shooting a 298 to climb up to a sixth place finish and a final score of a 34 over par 898. The ‘Runners total score of 898 put them just two strokes behind the University of New Mexico for fifth place, despite New Mexico holding a 15-stroke advantage over them heading into the day. UTSA was paced by the contributions from Holzmann and Gonzalez, and also received good finishes by Camryn Carreon and Nicole Polvichak. Carreon shot an 11 over par 227 to finish in a tie for 23rd, her fourth straight top 25 finish. Polvichak followed up her seventh-place finish last week with a 12 over par 228 to finish tied for 31st, just one stroke behind her teammate Carreon. 

The ‘Runners finished the tournament 11 strokes behind tournament winners, the University of Tulsa, who ended the tournament with a total final score of 887.  This marks the second straight tournament win for Tulsa this season, and they have now beaten UTSA in all three tournaments both teams have competed in this season. Women’s golf will take a three-week break before resuming their season in San Antonio for the Maryb S. Kauth Invitational on Tuesday, March 9, and Wednesday, March 10. In their stead, the men’s team will finally get their season started on Monday, Feb. 22, and Tuesday, Feb. 23, when they take part in the Border Olympics tournament in Laredo, Texas.