PALM DESERT, Calif. –
Jahaanvie Walia enjoyed her second Top-5 finish of the 2019 fall slate and played an integral role in leading the ULM women's golf team to a fifth-place finish at the Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate that concluded on Sunday at the Classic Club in Palm Desert, California.
Walia, who finished fourth on the individual leaderboard with a 10-over-par score of 226 (73-75-78), enjoyed the seventh Top-10 outing of her ULM career. She was seven shots off the pace established by Southern Utah's Chanikan Yongyuan, who took home the individual crown with a 3-over-par score of 219 (69-76-74).
Walia carded two birdies in first round of morning play on Saturday before coming through with three birdies and 10 pars in her second round in the afternoon. On Sunday, in the final round, Walia emerged with four pars and a birdie on the front nine before closing the back nine with a birdie and five pars, finishing 6-over-par.
Walia, along with teammates
Shani White and
Sharmaine Rapisura, who finished 27th and 29th, respectively, was instrumental in helping the Warhawks close fifth in the team standings. ULM was responsible for a 79-over-par score of 943 after rounds of 307, 315 and 321. The Warhawks were 18 shots off the pace of team champion Cal Poly, which closed at 61-over-par. Southern Utah and UTEP finished second and third, respectively, while Hawaii edged out ULM by one shot at 78-over-par.
White, who posted the second-best score of any Warhawk on the weekend, finished 24-over-par with a score of 240. Her first round 79 came as a result of one birdie and 12 pars, which placed her in a tie for 29th. White rebounded from a difficult second round, which included only four pars, to emerge with one birdie and 11 pars on Sunday. The senior standout finished in a tie for 27th alongside Kralyn Salazar (Hawaii).
ULM junior
Sharmaine Rapisura had her best finish of the early season, tying for 29th, after posting a 25-over-par score 241 (75-85-81). Rapisura tied Walia for the second-lowest round by any Warhawk on the weekend (75), which came in her first round of the weekend by virtue of two birdies and 11 pars. Rapisura tallied eight pars in the second round on Saturday before picking up her third birdie, along with eight additional pars in third round action.
Eva Bjornsdottir claimed 40th in the two-day, three-round event after finishing 28-over-par with a score of 244 (80-77-87). The ULM junior was the only player, other than Walia, to record a birdie in each of the three rounds for the Warhawks. Bjornsdottir began play with an 80 after a birdie and nine pars in the first round. She followed that by posting two birdies and 10 pars in the second round, closing with a 77, as she jumped to 26th on the leaderboard. Her final round Sunday resulted in two more birdies, giving her five on the weekend, along with five pars.
Freshman
Line Petersen completed the ULM scorecard with a 34-over-par score of 250 (86-80-84), finishing 47th in the process. Petersen began the tournament with a score of 86, closing with one birdie and six pars, before ending Saturday with a second round 80 that came as a result of 11 pars. The Denmark native closed out her final round score of 84 with nine pars.
ULM concludes the fall slate on Oct. 27-29 when the Warhawks head to the Little Rock Classic in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
ULM-Only Results (Final Round)
