Long Beach State held off a challenge from Boise State in an exciting final day of the Boise State/UC Riverside Tri-Dual, claiming the team championship by three strokes in the 36-hole competition.
Long Beach State maintained a three-stroke lead from Thursday in the second round of play from Monterey Country Club in Palm Desert. Both the Broncos and the Beach finished 1-under par as a team as low scores were the mark of the day.
Jasmine Leovao (El Camino HS) made a run at the team championship, tying for the lowest round on either day with a five-under par 67 on Friday to climb up to second place overall, one stroke behind Boise State’s Leia Chung. Chung was the co-leader after round one, and shot a two-under par 69 on the final day to return as the individual medalist.
Andee Avery, who was the co-leader after the opening day, was part of a three-way tie at 1-under par after a 71 on Friday. UC Riverside’s Vanessa Betancourt and Elli Gordon also finished the tournament under par at 1-under.
The Beach utilized their depth to come away with the win. Sophomore Madison Le (Fountain Valley HS) shot a one-under par 70 to share in a tie for sixth place with Teal Matsueda of Boise State. The decisive round came from senior Angelina Kim, who rallied for the second day with an even-par 71, though Long Beach State’s drop score came from Janae Leovao (El Camino HS), who shot a final day 72 to finish in the Top 10 along with her sister, Avery and Le.
Long Beach State will return to spring tournament play on February 27-28, taking part in the GCU Invitational hosted by Grand Canyon in Phoenix.
