ORLANDO, Fla. – University of Arkansas All-American Maria Fassi notched her second collegiate win finishing 11-under at the invitation-only ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M in Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday.
The Arkansas sophomore paced the 10th-ranked Razorbacks to a runner-up finish shooting 71–66–68—205 in the team’s first event of the 2016-17 season. Fassi, who joined the team in January, also won her first tournament that season at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.
Arkansas had a record-setting day on Monday shooting 18-under with all five players posting career low rounds. They continued to play well in the final round with two players in the top 10 as Fassi was joined by junior Alana Uriell who tied for eighth place.
Fassi’s final round was a balanced effort with three birdies and one bogey on each side. She led the field in par-3 scoring playing those holes 4-under and she carded 18 birdies to lead all players during the three-day event. Fassi’s second round 66 was a career best along with her 205 total.
Fassi’s 205 ties the school record for lowest individual three-day round while Arkansas’ second round 270 tops the previous team record. In addition, the Razorbacks’ 18-under in the second round is a school record.
Uriell is in the clubhouse shooting 68–70–71—209, a career-low for the Carlsbad, California, native. Sophomore Cara Gorlei finished 26th overall with a 72–68–75—215 followed by sophomore transfer Kaylee Benton who tied for 27th shooting 72–69–75—216. Senior Jordy LaBarbera rounded out the Razorback scores. LaBarbera’s 220 is the second-best three-round total for her career and included rounds of 75–67–78.
Arkansas returns to action Oct. 2-4, traveling to Charleston, South Carolina for the Powerade Cougar Classic, the second of four fall events for the Razorbacks.
FROM SHAUNA ESTES-TAYLOR
Obviously it was a tremendous job by Maria (Fassi). She had three birdies on the back side which was fantastic. That put her in the lead and then for her to finish strong like she did with a birdie on 16 and a great up-and-down on 17 was fun. To get a victory in this field says a lot about her game and her fire-power. She had a good game plan for this golf course and executed it very precisely and she did it with a very forgiving attitude with her misses. That’s what it takes to win at this level. We were upset that we came up two shots short but it is a great way to start the season against a tough field. It gives us some really good confidence heading into the fall knowing we can take it deep. We have a really good golf team with a lot of fight in them. We got a little behind on the front nine and I’m really proud of the way they fought and got us back in a position to win. I’m super-proud of this group at this tournament.
Team Results
1 No. 4 Southern California 279–285–276—840 -24
2 No. 10 Arkansas 283–270–289—842 -22
3 No. 1 UCLA 279–272–293—844 -20
4 No. 3 Georgia 278–279–288—845 -19
5 No. 7 Florida 282–286–280—848 -16
6 No. 15 South Carolina 274–290–285—849 -15
7 No. 5 Duke 293–278–286—857 -7
8 UCF 288–281–290—859 -5
9 No. 2 Arizona State 283–291–291—865 +1
10 No. 9 Oklahoma State 286–293–287—866 +2
11 No. 19 Virginia 287–285–297—869 +5
12 No. 12 Arizona 288–286–298—872 +8
2 Arkansas 283–270–289—842 -22
1 Maria Fassi (2) 71–66–68—205 -14
T8 Alana Uriell (1) 68–70–71—209 -10
26 Cara Gorlei (5) 72–68–75—215 -1
T27 Kaylee Benton (3) 72–69–75—216 E
T40 Jordy LaBarbera (4) 75–67–78—220 +4
