HENDERSON, Nev. – BYU women’s golf finished third at the West Coast Conference Championship with a final-round score of 320 at Reflection Bay Golf Course on Saturday.
“I’m proud of how we battled,” said head coach Carrie Roberts. “Until you have been in that high pressure moment, it’s hard to understand just how big it is.”
BYU entered the final round of the WCC Championship in first with a five-shot lead over Gonzaga. A difficult final round of 320 by the Cougars, combined with rounds of 308 for the Zags and 303 for Pepperdine vaulted both teams ahead of BYU into a first-place tie for the tournament title with a 54-hole total of 897.
Gonzaga came up victorious on the second playoff hole to claim its first ever WCC women’s golf championship. BYU's three-day total of 904 was good for third, with San Francisco finishing fourth at 905 and Santa Clara fifth at 938.
“As a team we will pick ourselves up and learn and grow from this,” said Roberts.
BYU junior Allysha Mae Mateo entered the final round locked in a tight battle for the individual title with Quynn Duong of Gonzaga. A rough back nine for Mateo on Saturday gave her a three-day total of 224, good for a fourth-place tie with three others, including teammate Naomi Soifua. Caroline Hwang of Pepperdine won the individual title with a score of 221 (+5).
Soifua’s 54-hole score of 75-71-78—224 set a new career best, while Mateo’s rounds of 70-71-83—224 gave the Honolulu native her fifth top-5 finish of the season and ninth of her career.
Annick Haczkiewicz ended the WCC tournament with a score of 73-74-82—229, good for a tie for 12th and her best finish of the season. Kerstin Fotu posted the best finish of her career with a tie for 14th after a three-round score of 75-75-80—230.
Lila Galeai closed out her true-freshman campaign by scoring 76-77-80—233 and tying for 18th.
Despite the disappointment of Saturday’s third round, BYU posted its most top-15 finishers of the season with four at the WCC Championship. The team also strung-together five-consecutive top-5 finishes to close out the season.
WCC Championship | Final Team Standings
| Finish | Team | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total | To Par |
| T1 | Gonzaga* | 297 | 292 | 308 | 897 | +33 |
| T1 | Pepperdine | 299 | 295 | 303 | 897 | +33 |
| 3 | BYU | 293 | 291 | 320 | 904 | +40 |
| 4 | San Francisco | 309 | 294 | 302 | 905 | +41 |
| 5 | Santa Clara | 316 | 305 | 317 | 938 | +74 |
*Champion following playoff
WCC Championship | Final BYU Individual Standings
| Finish | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total | To Par |
| T4 | Naomi Soifua | 75 | 71 | 78 | 224 | +8 |
| T4 | Allysha Mae Mateo | 70 | 71 | 83 | 224 | +8 |
| T12 | Annick Haczkiewicz | 73 | 74 | 82 | 229 | +13 |
| T14 | Kerstin Fotu | 75 | 75 | 80 | 230 | +14 |
| T18 | Lila Galeai | 76 | 77 | 80 | 233 | +17 |