UW Finishes Third at Branch Law Firm Dick McGuire Invitational

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of Washington women's golf team finished third at the annual Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational on Monday posting a 7-over 871 (284-294-293). The Dawgs had all of their counting players finish in the top 30 and saw senior Rino Sasaki and freshman Camille Boyd both turn in top 20 performances.  
 
"The team really showed their toughness today," said head coach Mary Lou Mulflur. "We didn't play very well and had a tough time getting anything going initially. Then suddenly they caught fire to end the round. For our counting scores, we were 7-under over the last five holes which was great to see. We just need to have that urgency and fire for all 18 holes."
 
The Huskies were led by Sasaki who tied for 13th with a 2-over 218 (71-73-74). It is Sasaki's third top 15 finish in the last four events and she has not finished below 30th in the six tournaments this season. Her final 18 started fairly steady as she turned in just three errors to six pars before making the turn at 3-over. She quickly responded with two pars on 10 and 11 followed by a string of four birdies with three bogeys sandwiched in between to close the day at 2-over 74.
 
Boyd tallied her third top 20 finish of the season as she tied for 18th with a 3-over 219 (71-72-76). She also finished the day strong as she went 2-under over her final six holes closing with a birdie on the 18th for her 4-over 76.
 
Sophomore Brittany Kwon was just two strokes behind her as her even-par 72 during Monday's final 18 moved her eight spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 23rd at 4-over 220 (70-78-72). Kwon's final round featured three birdies alongside three bogeys with the sophomore making par on the other 12 holes of the day. It is Kwon's third top 25 finish of the season.
 
Freshman Stefanie Deng turned in UW's best scorecard on the day as she went 1-under 71 during Monday's final 18 to climb 16 spots into a tie for 27th at 6-over 222 (74-77-71). Deng opened with back-to-back birdies on her first two holes and then posted four bogeys over the next 11 to sit at 2-over heading in the final five on the day. The newcomer responded quickly with three-straight birdies and two pars to close the day at 1-under 71.
 
Rounding out the UW squad in Albuquerque was junior Martha Lewis who tied for 34th with a 9-over 225 (72-72-81).
 
Washington's regular season has concluded and next up is the Pac-12 Championships hosted by Stanford, April 23-25.