April 2, 2008
AMARILLO – Jerry Holguin fired a final round 72 to finish second overall, helping the St. Mary’s University men’s golf team to a second place finish at the 2008 West Texas A&M University Buffalo Stampede Tournament, played at the La Paloma Golf Course Tuesday. The Rattler women also were strong, with three players finishing in the top 25 on their way to a fourth place finish at the Lady Buff Stampede, also played at the La Paloma Golf Course.
Holguin (Fr., San Antonio) shot rounds of 74 and 72 to finish with a two-round total of 146, five strokes behind medalist Colin Cruz of West Texas A&M. Holguin edged out Geoff Phemister of West Texas A&M by a single stroke. Brad Aycock of Southeastern Oklahoma State University and Hilton Funk of Abilene Christian were each two strokes behind Holguin.
Just three strokes behind Holguin was James Grant (So., San Antonio) with a two-round total of 149 (75-74), good for sixth place overall. Right behind him was Matt Vela (Fr., San Antonio), who picked up his fifth straight top-10 finish with a 150 (78-72) to tie for eight overall with teammate Alex Maurer (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.). Preston Akomis (Jr., San Antonio) was 13th with a 152 (82-70) and Jimmy Willingham (Sr., San Antonio) was 18th with a 154 (78-76).
The Rattlers went down to the final hole, battling with WTAMU and Western New Mexico for the team title. Grant pared the final hole to give the Rattlers a one-stroke win over the host Buffaloes, 597 (3-7-290) to 598 (304-294). WNMU was third at 601, while Abilene Christian was fourth at 607.
Amanda Anderson (Jr., San Antonio) led the way for the Rattlers with a 170 (85-85). Tina Bickford of WNMU ran away with the individual title, firing a second round three-under par 69 to total 150 (81-69), seven strokes ahead of second place Mollie Peterson of WTAMU.
Jenna Wessels (So., Katy) tied for 15th place overall with a 172 (90-82), Ursula Perez (Fr., San Antonio) was 23rd with a 177 (93-84), Marie Hulsey (So., El Paso) was 30th with a 181 (90-91) and Sonya Sanchez (So., McCamey) was 47th with a 202 (99-103).
St. Mary’s finished fourth overall with a two-round total of 700 (358-342). Western New Mexico was the top team with a 652, followed by West Texas A&M with a 657 and the University of Central Oklahoma in third with a 691.
The tournament was the final regular season event for the women, who will compete next at the Heartland Conference Championships on April 14 in Dallas. The men will return to action on April 7-8 at the Emerald Coast Collegiate in Gulf Breez, Fla. The tournament will be the final regular season event for the men, who will also compete in the Heartland Conference Tournament on April 14-15.