CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The 2024 Islander Classic trophy won't be going anywhere, as the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi golf program came away with the overall win in its home tournament at the Corpus Christi Country Club to start the 2024 season with a bang.
It was an outstanding week of golf for the Islanders, who retained a lead from round one to win the whole thing. The Islanders carded a 302 in the final round to finish with a 912 54-hole total which was 16 strokes better than second-place and over 50 strokes better than UTRGV to earn points towards the South Texas Showdown, presented by Rally Credit Union.
"I am so proud of the way our team played through adversity this week," said head coach
Pat Stephens. "It looked early late last week that we may not be able to field a team due to injury and sickness but the team stayed focusd and got the job done."
In addition, senior
Lucie Charbonnier is off to an excellent start in her final collegiate season as she won the all-around individual trophy after shooting even par through three rounds. She set the tone in round one after shooting a 71 (-1) before finishing strong with a 72 (E) in the third to finish ahead of second place by 11 strokes. It is her third career win.
Also showing out at home were junior
Lucia Ramirez and freshman
Samantha Gibbs who both finished in the top-five. Ramirez finished with a 229 score to finish third overall while Gibbs was one stroke behind at 230 after carding her best round in the third (75) to finish tied for fourth.
Freshman
Carla Puente Fernandez also stepped up and shot her tournament-best round in the third with a 78, finishing 17
th overall with a 237 54-hole total. Senior
Reese Drezins rounded out the team with a 274 card.
"Lucie had an exceptional tournament, just lapping the field with her play making 15 birdies over the 54 holes. What a way to start her last semester as an Islander! Lucia and Sam also had a wonderful tournament, both are so close to breaking out and winning on their own. I think the 'hero' of the tournament was Carla, though. With a leg injury that kept her out of full practice for over a week, she played with so much grit. She knew she had to do it for the team and she was able to finish with a respectable 17th place. This win has given the team a much needed boost of confidence for the rest of the spring."
The Islanders will look to ride this high into the rest of the spring, picking back up on March 4-5 when they travel down to Edinburg to compete in the UTRGV Invitational.
Team Standings
1. A&M-Corpus Christi, 912
2. Lamar, 928
3. Texas A&M-Commerce, 948
4. Omaha, 953
5. Creighton, 954
6. UTRGV, 967
7. Stephen F. Austin, 973
8. Texas A&M-Kingsville, 977
9. Valparaiso, 994
10. McLennan CC, 996
11. Prairie View A&M, 1007
Individual Standings (out of 63)
1.
Lucie Charbonnier, 71-73-72 – 216
3.
Lucia Ramirez, 74-78-77 – 229
T4.
Samantha Gibbs, 77-78-75 – 230
17.
Carla Puente Fernandez, 79-80-78 – 237
61.
Reese Drezins, 90-93-91 – 274
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