ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Playing in its first event of the 2019-20 season, the Nevada women's golf team earned an eighth place finish at the Dick McGuire Invitational.
 
The Wolf Pack finished the tournament at 16-over par to claim the eighth spot in the 15-team field. Nevada shot a team score of 296 on the final day. As a comparison for how the team has grown over the years, the last time the Pack played in this tournament, back in 2013, the team finished at 72-over par.
 
Kent State won the event by a comfortable margin, besting runner-up Pepperdine by seven shots and finishing at 16-under par. There were just five teams in the field of 15 that posted scores under par. Additionally, the Wolf Pack got an early look at how the competition stacks up in the Mountain West as it competed against four conference foes in Albuquerque. Nevada finished ahead of three of those four, including tournament host New Mexico, UNLV and Colorado State.
 
For Nevada, senior Jenny Krause led the team with a tie for 23^rd place in the 87-player field. She shot a 77 in the final round, and combined with her scores from the first two rounds, finished the event at 3-over par, one shot off from tying her career-best tournament score to par. Fellow senior Katy Rutherford and sophomore Danni Ujimori had near identical tournament runs. Both tied for 29^th place at 4-over par and both shot an even par 72 in the final round. Ujimori led the Pack with nine birdies this week, while Rutherford led the team by collecting 41 pars.
 
Sophomore Victoria Gailey finished closely behind Ujimori and Rutherford at 6-over par and in a tie for 36^th place. She carded a 4-over 76 on the final day. Freshman Leah John tied for 72^nd in her collegiate debut, finishing at 14-over par after a round of 76 on Tuesday.
 
Momoka Kobori of Pepperdine claimed individual medalist honors as she ended her tournament run at 9-under par. She bested the two runner-up finishers by two shots.
 
Nevada will return to action Sept. 23-24 at the Coeur d'Alene Collegiate Invitational in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
 
Nevada Scores
T23. Jenny Krause, 71-71-77=219 (+3)
T29. Danni Ujimori, 75-73-72=220 (+4)
T29. Katy Rutherford, 75-73-72=220 (+4)
T36. Victoria Gailey, 70-76-76=222 (+6)
T72. Leah John, 76-78-76=230 (+14)