Golf Edged Out in First-Place Tiebreaker with HBU, Wins South Texas Showdown

MCALLEN, Texas - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi golf program saw a first-place tie with HBU at the UTRGV Invitational before a team playoff gave the Houston program the edge at the McAllen Country Club on Tuesday.

A&M-Corpus Christi and HBU both totaled a 920 after three rounds to result in the leading tie. HBU ultimately claimed the tournament victory after defeating the Islanders in a playoff. The Islanders finished 13 strokes ahead of UTRGV to win the season's South Texas Showdown.

The showdown, an all-sports competition between A&M-Corpus Christi and UTRGV, is presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union. As an institution, the Islanders now lead this year's standings 41-10 over the Vanqueros. A&M-Corpus Christi leads the all-time series 4-1.

"I am so proud of the team," said head coach Pat Stephens. "They played their hearts out. It was exciting to be in a team playoff, it was a great experience for us. We give 'congrats' to HBU."

Contributing to the team's tournament success, the Islanders had freshman Anastacia Johnson and junior Lucy Martinez each turn in a top-10 performance individually. Johnson carded a 75-75-77 - 227 to place seventh while Martinez submitted a 72-81-75 - 228 to tie for eighth.

This marked Johnson's third tournament in a row where she has had a top-10 finish, including a first-place win at the Islander Classic. She was also awarded the SLC Golfer of the Month for February. 

Sophomore Lucie Charbonnier was not far behind Johnson and Martinez as she tied for 11th out of 79 players with a 230 total. She bounced back in her third round with a 72, nine strokes better than her first.

"The team is getting comfortable being in contention now," Stephens said. "Anastacia, Lucy and Lucie all had a very good tournament. Reagan came in with a key 3rd round that helped a lot."

Freshman Reagan Gray recorded her lowest score in the third round with a 76. She totaled a 236 through three rounds while junior Maria Beltran rounded out the team with a 246.

It will be a quick turn-a-round for the Islanders as they will next compete at the HBU Husky Invitational on March 14-15 at the Riverbend Country Club. 

"We're going to try to keep the team healthy the remainder of this week and are looking forward to HBU's event next Monday and Tuesday," said Stephens.

Final Standings
T1. Houston Baptist, 920 (+56)
T1. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 920 (+56)
3. Utah Valley, 924 (+60)
4. Illinois State, 925 (+61)
T5. Creighton, 932 (+68)
T5. Incarnate Word, 932 (+68)
7. UTRGV, 933 (+69)
8. Lamar, 946 (+82)
9. Omaha, 947 (+83)
10. SFA, 948 (+84)
11. Drake, 957 (+93)
T12. North Dakota, 961 (+97)
T12. Tarleton State, 961 (+97)
14. Texas Southern, 970 (+106)
15. Texas A&M-Kingsville, 1020 (+156)
16. UTRGV (B), 1103 (+239)

Indivdual Standings 
7. Anastacia Johnson, 227
T8. Lucy Martinez, 228
T11. Lucie Charbonnier, 230
T27. Reagan Gray, 236
T55. Maria Beltran, 246


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