Blanco, Texas - The Southwestern Women's Golf put on a gutsy effort in the SCAC Conference Championship, beating St. Thomas by two strokes to capture second place in the tournament on Tuesday afternoon at Vaaler Creek Country Club in Blanco, Texas. 

In round one, Jr. Linsey Garza led the Pirates, shooting a steady score of 80, parring half of the holes and carding two birdies. After the round, Garza's performance put her in fourth place, only five shots behind the leader. Fr. Isabel Montelongo followed close behind her teammate with a round of 81. Montelongo had five bogeys and a double on the front nine for +6 but improved her second nine holes by three strokes with two birdies and four pars. Rounding out the top 10 in the field was Jr. Katherine Montgomery, who was tied for eighth at the end of day one. Montgomery had trouble on the first nine holes, similar to Montelongo, and made the turn at +9. However, Montgomery improved drastically on the back nine with two birdies and ended the final nine at +2 for a total of 83. The Pirates were tied with St. Thomas at the end of round one, with both teams shooting a combined score of 328. 

The Pirates put themselves in a great position to finish well in the tournament with their first-round play. The team played very strong golf on an unusually misty and windy day in late April in round two. Three Pirates carded an 80.  

Montelongo improved by a stroke in her last round for 80, but her play was far more consistent with eleven pars and a +2 on the back nine. So. Ryleigh Erickson improved by four strokes from her first to her second round, one of the three Pirates to shoot 80, going +4 on the front nine and +4 on the back. Jr. Madison Miller was the final Pirate to card an 80, firing +2 on the front nine and +6 on the back. Finally, Jr. Kaylee Cheek rounded out the top four scorers for the Pirates on the second day, improving by six strokes from her first round with eight pars and an eagle, one of only two eagles for the tournament, to card an 83. By the end of round two, the Pirates improved collectively by five strokes from round one and concluded with a final score of 651, beating St. Thomas by two strokes to take second place. 

The Pirates finished the tournament with three SCAC All-Conference selections. Isabel Montelongo finished tied for third with a two-round total of 161 to earn First Team All-SCAC honors. Ryleigh Erickson finished tied for seventh to earn Second Team All-SCAC honors, and Linsey Garza finished tied for 15th, making Honorable Mention All-SCAC. 

2022 All-SCAC Women's Golf First Team

1. Kiona Hsiu, Trinity - 75-73 -- 148

2. Kimberly Burch, Dallas - 76-76 -- 152

T3. Erin Flynn, Trinity - 89-72 -- 161

T3. Isabel Montelongo, Southwestern - 81-80 -- 161

5. Alejandra Sanchez De la Fuente Molino, Trinity - 83-79 -- 162

2022 All-SCAC Women's Golf Second Team

6. Myra Truong, St. Thomas - 82-81 -- 163

T7. Ryleigh Erickson, Southwestern - 84-80 -- 164

T7. Trinity Le, St. Thomas - 77-87 -- 164

T9. Emma Luna, St. Thomas - 85-80 -- 165 

T9. Alyssa Goins, St. Thomas - 84-81 -- 165

2022 All-SCAC Women's Golf Honorable Mention

T15. Linsey Garza, Southwestern - 80-88 -- 168

2022 SCAC Women's Golf Tournament Medalist

Kiona Hsiu, Trinity University