Beavers Finish Strong At PING/ASU Invitational

Sunday, April 9

Tempe, Ariz.

All Day

Oregon State

PING/ASU Invitational

Elyse Smidinger

Photo by: Karl Maasdam/Oregon State Athletics

April 09, 2017 | Women's Golf

Live Scoring PING Team Day 3

By: Oregon State Communications

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Oregon State women's golf team shot a 2-under 286 in the final round of the PING/ASU Invitational on Sunday to move up the leaderboard and finish in a tie for fifth place.

The Beavers concluded the three-day, 54-hole tournament with an 8-over 291-295-286--872 at the par-72, 6,223-yard ASU Karsten Golf Course and tied UNLV for fifth.

The 2-under 286 equals the third-lowest under-par score in program history. The record is a 5-under 283 at the Westbrook Spring Invitational in 2014.

Arizona State won the 14-team event with a 25-under 839, while Arizona finished second with a 5-under 859, Washington was third with an even-par 864 and Baylor finished fourth with a 2-over 866.

"We spoke as a team last night about being patient and taking each round one shot at a time; slowing down and taking time to make smart decisions," Oregon State head coach Dawn Shockley said. "Today they played smart and steady golf and a tie for fifth place is a decent finish for us in this field."

Senior Elyse Smidinger had the round of the day, a 4-under 68, that included five birdies and only one bogey. She shot an Oregon State record 5-under 67 at the Rose City Collegiate this past fall.

The superb final round vaulted Smidinger 34 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 36th place with a 6-over 77-77-68--222.

Sophomore Olivia Benzin also had a strong finish, posting a 2-under 70, to move 11 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 17th place with a 1-over 73-74-70--217. She now has six top-20 finishes in the eight tournaments this season and six rounds in red figures.

Junior Hannah Swanson was steady from start to finish in the desert, finishing with a 1-over 72-72-73--217 to tie Benzin on the individual leaderboard. The tie for 17th place is her best finish of the season, bettering the tie for 22nd at the Rose City Collegiate.

"I'm proud of the team and where we are headed. Elyse bounced back after two rough days and had a great round," Shockley said. "Olivia played great golf and posted a bogey-free 2 under today. Hannah had a great all-around tournament and a top-20 finish.

"As I have said before, this team is working hard and believing in the process. It's good to see the hard work starting to pay off."

Junior Susie Cavanagh finished in a tie for 29th with a 5-over 73-73-75--221 and freshman Nicole Schroeder finished in a tie for 45th place with a 9-over 73-76-76--225.

The Beavers will next compete at the Pac-12 Championship, which will be held Monday, April 24 to Wednesday, April 26 at the Sewailo Golf Course in Tucson, Ariz.

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