SAN RAFAEL. CALIF. - On September 21st, the Sonoma State women's golf team concluded their final round in the 2021 Birdie Fest hosted by Dominican University. This would be the team's first tournament of the 2021 fall season. Head coach Val Verhunce and his group were able to compete in four tournaments during last spring's shortened season. There, the Seawolves showed their dominance as they won 3 of the 4 tournaments and finished in 2nd place in the SSU Spring Invite to close out the season. The Seawolves would look to pick up where they left off as they began their 2021-22 campaign at Peacock Gap Golf Club.
After day one of the 2021 Birdie Fest, the Seawolves found themselves just four strokes back of tournament leading Academy of Art. The team recorded a 290 (+6) combined round while Academy of Art sat at 286 (+2). Senior golfer Lexi Nielsen saw lots of red on her electronic scorecard as she led SSU with 6 birdies on the day and finished with a 67 (-4) in her opening round. Her performance would be good for 2nd place individually behind Academy of Art's Anahi Servin. Nielsen shot a staggering 5-under on the front nine as she played bogey free golf and recorded 5 birdies.
Second year golfer Amelia Gladys would follow for the Seawolves as she had a near mistake free round recording par on every hole except two to finish with a 73 (+2). Freshman Lauren Garcia got the nod this week to be in the team's starting five as she would make her SSU debut. Garcia finished with four birdies in her round and recorded a 76 (+5). The SSU women's golf team also returned junior golfer Courtney Cervellin who was a part of the team during the 2019-20 season and would make her 2021-22 debut as an individual in the Birdie Fest. Cervellin put together a solid first round as she recorded 2 birdies and finished with a 74 (+3). The Seawolves were in a solid position two make a push for the tournament title in their first event of the 2021-22 season.
"I was really happy for Amelia today. She is coming along nicely in her second year and had a great tournament this week. Lauren also made her Seawolf debut competing in her first collegiate tournament and it was great to see her out there improving each and every round. The team is super happy to have Courtney back and I could not be more proud of her. She's battled injuries that last couple years and was unable to compete last spring so for her to return and be healthy and play the way she did was wonderful to see" (HC, Verhunce).
Sophomore Amelia Gladys put together yet another quality round as she improved by one stroke on day two finishing with a 72 (+1). Gladys would record three birdies on the back side and shoot 1-under par in her final nine holes. Second year transfer Samantha Smedshammer would match her round 1 score and finish with another 76 (+5). Veteran returner Samantha Cabunag put together another solid performance in her second round. Cabunag tallied four birdies between her two rounds and finished with a 74 (+3) both days.
However, the star of the tournament for the Seawolves was yet again senior Lexi Nielsen. Nielsen would shoot a 72 (+1) in her second and final round to allow her to finish 3-under for the tournament. Her 67-72--139 (-3) performance was good enough for second place individually in the tournament and the Seawolves best finisher. Lexi recorded two birdies on the back side to finish 1-under par in her final nine holes. "Lexi has become a tremendous leader for our group and it's not surpising to see her play like this. Lexi has made the jump from a good player to a great player and she showed some of that briefly last spring and has continued to show it so far in the traditional fall season" (HC, Verhunce).
Amelia Gladys 1-over final round performance allowed her to jump the leaderboard and finish alone in 6th place individually. Samantha Cabunag finished the tournament at +6 and in a tie for 9th place individually. Natalie Brugler and Samantha Smedshammer would record the top finishes out of all of the tournament's competing individuals as both golfers recorded back to back 76 rounds. Dominican's Birdie Fest would go down as a successful first round of the 2021-22 season for the Sonoma State women's golf team as they finished in 2nd place as a team and saw three golfers finish inside the top 10. The Seawolves are back in action next week as they travel to New Mexico for their second tournament of the fall season. They will then play host in the 2021 Fall SSU Women's Invitational on October 4th and 5th.
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