HUMBLE, Texas – Texas State women's golf finished fourth at the Chevron Collegiate, thanks to Junia Gabasa leading the way with a 9-under 207 to place tied for sixth on the individual leaderboard and three total Bobcats shooting under par at the 54-hole tournament held at the Golf Club of Houston (Par 72, 6,171 yards).
 
The Bobcats recorded their third straight top-four finish at a tournament and beat five teams ranked ahead of them in the latest Clippd national rankings. Texas State, which entered the week ranked No. 54 in the country, also matched its best round this season with an 8-under 280 in Tuesday's final round. The 280 was the second-best final round in the 16-team field.
 
"I'm very proud of how the team played this tournament," said Par Nilsson, Texas State head coach. "After day one, we talked about being more aggressive and that paid off. Everyone keeps getting better and all the little things we keep doing better is paying off."
 
Gabasa, playing in her first tournament of the season, climbed two spots on the final day of the tournament after shooting 2-under 70 in the final round. She was under par in all three rounds and had 15 total birdies, which were tied for the fourth-most among all players.
 
In last year's version of the tournament at the same golf course, Gabasa shot 7-under 209 to finish tied for 10th.
 
"Junia's sixth place finish is great in such a strong field," added Nilsson. "She is nursing an injury, and I am very impressed in how she played not being 100 percent healthy. It definitely shows how mentally tough she is."
 
The teams nationally ranked higher than Texas State that the Bobcats beat included Houston (No. 29), Oklahoma State (No. 33), Tennessee (No. 38), North Texas (No. 41) and Iowa State (No. 48).
 
Yvonne Chamness and Hailey Jones finished tied for 20th and 22nd, respectively, to help the Bobcats. Chamness, who has finished top-20 in three straight tournaments, shot 6-under 210 for the tournament. Jones, meanwhile, climbed five spots on the final day and finished the tournament with a 5-under 211.
 
Marine Griffaut bounced back from the two rounds on Monday with a 3-under 69 in the final round to finish 4-over 220. The senior was bogey-free in the final round and moved up 25 spots on the leaderboard on Tuesday.
 
Fia Lindblom, playing as an individual, finished fifth among those competing as individuals and tied for 63rd with a 6-over 222.
 
Last year, the same tournament at the same golf course, the Bobcats finished 12th among 16 teams.
 
Texas State will now move on to play in the Tulane Classic in New Orleans from March 10-12.
 
 
Course info
Golf Club of Houston (Humble, Texas)
Par 72
6,171 yards
 
Final – Team Scores
1. SMU, -33 (278-275-278; 831)
2. Maryland, -29 (279-275-281; 835)
3. Texas A&M, -24 (277-276-287; 840)
4. Texas State, -17 (284-283-280; 847)
5. Texas Tech, -16 (274-287-287; 848)
6. Houston, -14 (280-289-281; 850)
T-7. Tennessee, -13 (287-278-286; 851)
T-7. Iowa State, -13 (284-280-287; 851)
9. Illinois, -11 (282-283-288; 853)
T-10. UNLV, -3 (284-284-293; 861)
T-10. UTSA, -3 (289-283-289; 861)
T-10. North Texas, -3 (281-286-294; 861)
13. TCU, -1 (286-292-285; 863)
14. Oklahoma State, E (287-289-288; 864)
15. Indiana, +5 (292-291-286; 869)
16. Furman, +13 (286-299-292; 877)
 
Final – Texas State Player Scores
T-6. Junia Gabasa, -9 (69-68-70; 207)
T-20. Yvonne Chamness, -6 (70-69-71; 210)
T-22. Hailey Jones, -5 (71-70-70; 211)
T-55. Marine Griffaut, +4 (75-76-69, 220)
T-63. Fia Lindblom, +6 (74-74-74, 222)*
T-70. Carla Bourdeaux, +8 (74-78-72; 224)
 
*Competing as an individual