RESULTS
(BEAUMONT, Calif.)
Kiara Hernandez shot the best final round of any player at the Vanguard Fall Invite on Wednesday to win her second straight tournament and lead PLNU Women's Golf to the team title.
A week after claiming the Westmont Invitational crown, Hernandez shot a two-under 70 in the final round at Oak Valley G.C. to overcome a three-shot deficit entering the day.
Her two-under score was the best round of any player throughout the three rounds of the tournament, and is the second consecutive final round that she has shot under par.
"I'm super excited for Kiara as she went back-to-back and we sort of anticipated that those flood gates were going to open up once she got her first one," Head Coach
Lance Hancock said. "She had a super solid round today which probably could've been even lower with some of her putts dropping.
"She did a very good job today taking advantage of the par fives, which is really the secret to a powerful player's game, and she did that very well. Her par five stats for the week were pretty strong."
Mallory Hopper finished ninth individually after shooting a 78 on Wednesday, followed by
Avery Sky who tied for 11th after firing a 74 in the final round.
Zara Houghton placed 15th, just a single shot behind Sky, after her 75 to make it four Sea Lions in the top-15.
As a team, Point Loma began the third round just a single stroke off the lead but ran away from the field on Wednesday with its best score (297) of the season thus far.
The Sea Lions improved in each round, beginning with a 305 in the first round and a 303 in the second, ultimately winning the tournament by nine shots.
"For the team as a whole, I'm really excited and so grateful for their effort," Hancock said. "The first day was tough with 36 holes, a short night and having to come back early the next morning.
"We finally broke the 300 number which is a great positive for spring prep to get them in the right frame of mind for working towards a conference run."
Point Loma has now won a tournament in three consecutive seasons.
PLNU is scheduled to return to competition in the spring with the LA Spring Kickoff on Feb. 3-4 at Rio Hondo G.C. in Downey.
