CABOT, Ark. – The Rogers State women's golf team climbed three places on the final day of the Natural State Golf Classic to finish in fifth place overall. The Hillcats shot one of the top rounds of the day, finishing with a team score of -10 after shooting a 298, which was led by a -2 round of 70 from Jess Green.
Green's round of 70 was tied for the best round of the day, matching individual medalist Emma Thorngrn's 70. It was also the second-best round of the tournament.
After a pair of bogeys in the first eight holes, Green closed out the front nine with a birdie on the par three ninth. Green then birdied the 10
th to get back to even par. After a bogey at 11, Green birdied the 12
th and then strung together four-straight pars.
Green then closed the round with back-to-back birdies to jump into the top 10 and finish with the best round of the season for the Hillcats. Green finished in seventh at +5 for the event.
Green wasn't the only Hillcat to improve on day two, as all five Hillcats
Jaelynn Unger and
Sydney Murray had the next best rounds of the day for the Hillcats, with both players firing rounds of 75. Unger wrapped up her first tournament of the season with 13 pars and a birdie to finish at +3 for the round. Unger climbed to a tie for 27
th overall in the 98-golfer field.
Murray had a pair of birdies on the day and shot 11 pars to jump up 26 places on the leaderboard to finish well inside the top half in 40
th.
Marelda Ayal and
Mariana Flores wrapped up the day for the Hillcats, as both shot rounds of 78. Ayal was second on the Hillcats with three birdies on the afternoon. The freshman also had eight pars to remain in 35
th for the event.
Flores had a pair of birdies and eight pars to also finish at +6 for the day. The senior climbed eight places to finish in a tie for 38
th overall.
Rogers State shot 28 strokes better on day two to climb from a tie for eighth to a tie for fifth. The Hillcats finished just three shots outside of the top three after starting the day 19 shots out of third.
The Hillcats will be back in action next week, looking to defend their team title at the Diffie Ford Lincoln Invitational hosted at Kickingbird Golf Club in Edmond, Oklahoma. The tournament will be a two-day event on March 8-9.
