The Cal Poly women’s golf team placed second in the Big West Women’s Golf Championship, the best finish the program has ever recorded in the event. After leading the first two days of the tournament, Cal Poly fell four strokes behind UC Riverside on the third and final day of competition at the Kapalua Bay Golf Course in Hawaii.
None of Cal Poly’s golfers finished in the top five individually, but a consistent team effort helped the Mustangs to their best finish in conference history. Sophomore Desiree Gillaspy led the way for the Mustangs with a score of +12. She finished eight shots behind the leader, UC Davis’ Paige Lee, good enough to tie for sixth place overall with UC Riverside’s Hannah Facchini.
Three other Mustangs finished in the top 11 in the field of 40 players on the 7,411-yard course. Senior Madison Hirsch finished eighth with a score of +13, sophomore Sophie Bergland finished ninth with a score of +14 and sophomore Jamie Harada finished tied with four others for 11th with a score of +15. Hirsch posted the best individual round for Cal Poly, posting a 73 in the final round of the tournament and her collegiate career. Sophomore Lucy Robson, finished 23rd overall with a score of +21.
The Mustangs finished the first day with a four-person team score of 305 strokes, and the second day with a team score of 310. They finished strong with a team score of 303, but UC Riverside posted a tournament-best score of 296 in the final round to come back from three strokes behind.
Jakeishya Le was a key part of UC Riverside’s comeback victory, as she finished with a score of -2, the best individual score in the third round.
After the championship, head coach Sofie Aagaard was named the Big West Conference Coach of the Year and Hirsch was named to the Big West All-Conference Second Team.
The Mustangs look like they will carry their strong finish into next season, as they will have the majority of their team returning in the fall.