Women's Golf Advances to Medal Match Play; Drops Close Decision to WT

THACKERVILLE, Okla. – Tying her low round of the season, St. Mary's Senior Estelle Beck helped lead the Women's Golf team into the medal match play round at the Lone Star Conference Championship after the team placed third in stroke play with a three-round total of 887.
 
The Rattlers were narrowly edged out in the match play semfinals, 3-2, by West Texas A&M at the Scissortail Course at the WinStar Golf Club. The Lady Buffs will meet DBU in the finals on Wednesday.
 
St. Mary's will await word on qualifying for the NCAA Regional Tournament announcement, which will be May 1. 
 
STROKE PLAY RECAP
The 887 is the lowest tournament total of the spring for the Rattlers and the third lowest of the year for 54 holes. It is the second time in three seasons in the Lone Star Conference the Gold & Blue have finished third at the league championship. In 2021 the team went on to win the NCAA West Regional.
 
Beck shot a 69 in the final 18 holes on Tuesday, finishing in a tie for fifth place and earning All-Tournament team honors. For the tournament she turned in a 214 (75-70-69), which is her lowest of her standout career and ties for the second lowest on the team this season. It also ties for the sixth lowest 54-hole tournament in St. Mary's history.
 
Libby Kilbride, a sophomore from Sheffield, England, finished 19th after she improved each round to finish with a 221 (75-74-72). Her three-round total is the second lowest of her career, as she carded a 217 in the first tournament of the fall. 
 
Rebecca Reed (Midland, Texas) took one stroke off her first two rounds to shoot a 74 on the final day. Her total of 224 ended her in a five-way tie for 22nd. 
 
Fellow senior Jordyn Wray (San Antonio) shot a 76 on Tuesday morning to collect 228 strokes total (74-78-76) and end tied for 36th.
 
Sophomore Madalyn Trevino (San Antonio) ended tied for 63rd in the tournament with her three-round total of 246 (81-82-83). 
 
MEDAL MATCH PLAY
After waiting for the playoff to decide fourth place between Texas A&M International and UT Tyler, the seeds were set and the Rattlers took on West Texas A&M, while stroke play champions DBU faced the Dustdevils.
 
Kilbride caught fire in the fourth position, shooting a career-low round of 67 to win by 10 strokes. Her 67 was the lowest of the 20 golfers in the medal match semifinals. It betters her previous low round by three strokes and ties for the fourth-lowest single round in school history.
 
Beck continued to play well in the wet weather, shooting a 69 for the second-straight round to win her medal match by five strokes.
 
Sophomore Orla O'Leary (Galashiels, Scotland) was brought in for the semifinals and almost pulled off the improbable comeback. She was trailing by four strokes after eight holes, but chipped away at her opponent, Antonella Periotti Omisolo, but the two both shot a three on hole 11, the pairs final hole and O'Leary lost by one stroke, 80-to-81.
 
Reed shot her lowest round of the tournament, carding a 73, but ended up down two strokes and Wray turned in a 74, but dropped her match by four strokes to Gam Songprasert – who won the Rattler Invitational earlier this season.