WORLEY, Idaho - Nevada's Lauren Hernandez shot a final-round 72 on Tuesday to win the Circling Raven Collegiate Invitational, held Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 13-14 at the par 72, 6,106-yard Circling Raven Golf Course at the Coeur d'Alene Casino, Resort and Hotel.
Hernandez, a senior from Las Vegas, finished at two-over 218 (71-75-72) in the tournament and turned in a one-stroke victory over Gonzaga's Victoria Fallgren and Northern Arizona's Kaitlen Parsons. It marked the first tournament victory of her career and the first for a Wolf Pack women's golfer since Melanie De Leon won the Inland Northwest Dodge Dealers Invitational in September of 2008.
The Wolf Pack team shot the best round of the day on Tuesday, carding a nine-over 297 in the final round to finish in fourth place in its season-opening tournament. Nevada moved up four spots on the day and finished with a three-round total of 28-over 912 (306-309-297). Northern Arizona won the tiebreaker to capture the title in the 20-team tournament with a three-round total of 41-over 905. BYU finished second (905), while tournament host Gonzaga (910), Nevada (912) and San Francisco and Cal State Northridge (919) rounded out the top five teams.
For Nevada, junior Jamie Yam (83-78-733) and freshmen Allie Weng (78-80-76) and Joyce Chong (79-79-76) all tied for 38th at 18-over 234, while sophomore Louise Yi ended up in a tie for 45th at 19-over 235 (78-77-80). Yam shot a one-over 73 in Tuesday's final round to move up 35 spots from the previous day.
Nevada returns to action Sept. 20-22 when the Wolf Pack will travel to Pullman, Wash., for the Cougar Invitational. Washington State will play host to the tournament at the Palouse Ride Golf Club in Pullman.
