Cowgirls finish 12th at Ron Moore

Wyoming freshman Juanita Rico was 13th at the Ron Moore Invitational/UW photo.

By Wyoming Sports.org

DENVER -- The Wyoming Cowgirl golf team finished in 12th place on Wednesday at the Ron Moore Invitational.

The Cowgirls tallied up 144 holes on the road trip and finished off the tournament that was won by the University of Denver with a total of 925 strokes (+61). After a tough second round, the Cowgirls fought back and finished strong with a team score Wednesday of 305 (+17).

“It’s been a long week of golf for our girls and I am proud of how they played better today,” said head coach Josey Stender. “We had a tough time putting today and that’s an area where I believe we can improve, but it was nice to end on a good note.”

Freshman Juanita Rico finished the tournament tied for 13th-place, her best finish of her young career and tied the fourth best all-time event score for the Cowgirls with her 222 (+6). Rico in the opening round shot a career best 70 (-2) and followed it up with two identical 76’s (+4). In today’s round she really battled and answered her two back nine bogey’s with birdies on the next hole but was unable to keep the streak, with four unanswered bogeys.

“Juanita did a really nice job for us this road trip and finished the tournament strong,” said Stender. “She stuck with some of the best in the region and it really pays credit to her talent and more importantly her work ethic. She has done a great job of adjusting to the college game and I am excited to see her progress.”

Junior Sarah Fogerty had a solid tournament for the Cowgirls as she finished the tournament in 26th-place with a final 229 (+13), it was her best finish of the season. Fellow junior Jonelle Martinez followed Fogerty with a final 236 (+20) which put her in a tie for 49th-place.

The Cowgirls will return to action Monday and Tuesday at the Heather Farr Memorial Tournament, hosted by the University of Colorado in Broomfield, Colo.

“We have to really move into next weekend with a positive attitude and know that we can play with these teams. As long as we play relaxed and within ourselves we will do well,” said Stender.