April 16, 2013
FRESNO, Calif. - Long Beach State senior Simone Hoey and the 49ers closed out the regular-season in style on a windy Tuesday afternoon at Copper River Country Club in Fresno as LBSU swept both titles at the Fresno State Lexus Classic.
This was the second tournament title for LBSU this season as the 49ers captured The Gold Rush this past February in Yorba Linda. For Hoey, this marked her second career tournament title.
LBSU turned in their best round of the tournament with a 295 to finish with a 54-hole score of 28-over par 892, edging out second-place Tulsa (+29) by just one shot and four strokes over San Jose State (+32) in third.
The 49ers had a three-shot lead over the Golden Hurricanes going into the last hole after junior Rochelle Chan turned in a 75 and freshman Kassidy Teare finished with a 76.
Freshman Shawnee Martinez double-bogeyed the par-4 18th as LBSU's lead was cut down to one stroke. With Martinez done for the day with a 76, sophomore Chaewon Park was right behind to finish her round. Park missed a 20-foot putt for par as she ended up with her fifth bogey of the day as both teams were now tied.
Tulsa's Kristina Merkle missed a five-foot putt that would of sent both teams to determine a fifth-player tie-breaker, but it was up to Hoey to make a birdie from 10-feet out to win the tournament. The Rancho Cucuamonga native narrowly made the hole as the ball curled the outside edge of the cup to stop two-feet away. Hoey had no problem putting the ball into the hole to help the 49ers sweep both titles.
Hoey fired a final round 70 to finish the tournament at 5-under 211, holding a four-shot lead over Luciane Lee (-1) of UC Irvine and seven strokes over Sammi Stevens (+2) of New Mexico in third. Hoey recorded three birdies and just one bogey for the round.
Park tied for fifth at 5-over, while Martinez tied for 25th at 12-over. Chan tied for 45th (+17) and Teare placed 52nd (+18).
"This one really meant a lot to me because the support I received from my teammates and the other teams that stayed behind to watch me on the last hole," Hoey said. "It was a good win for the team because the Big West Championships are just a couple of days away and we have the momentum right now going into San Luis Obispo."
LBSU returns to action Apr. 21-23, for the Big West Conference Women's Golf Championship at San Luis Obispo.
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1 | | +28 | F | +7 | 298 | 299 | 295 | 892 |
2 | | +29 | F | +11 | 297 | 297 | 299 | 893 |
3 | | +32 | F | +3 | 306 | 299 | 291 | 896 |
4 | | +39 | F | +14 | 301 | 300 | 302 | 903 |
5 | | +43 | F | +10 | 308 | 301 | 298 | 907 |
6 | | +47 | F | +18 | 306 | 299 | 306 | 911 |
7 | | +49 | F | +19 | 302 | 304 | 307 | 913 |
8 | | +51 | F | +14 | 312 | 301 | 302 | 915 |
9 | | +53 | F | +16 | 312 | 301 | 304 | 917 |
T10 | | +60 | F | +16 | 306 | 314 | 304 | 924 |
T10 | | +60 | F | +13 | 319 | 304 | 301 | 924 |
12 | | +63 | F | +24 | 315 | 300 | 312 | 927 |
13 | | +64 | F | +24 | 303 | 313 | 312 | 928 |
T14 | | +71 | F | +25 | 316 | 306 | 313 | 935 |
T14 | | +71 | F | +26 | 310 | 311 | 314 | 935 |