PAYSON, Arizona – Senior Sofia Rodriguez closed her collegiate career turning in the best Texan individual performance and leading the team to its best finish at the WAC Championship at The Rim Golf Club.
“Sofia’s game this week was the best we have seen this season and I am super happy she was able to finish her collegiate career as a Texan on such a high note,” said head coach Isabel Jimenez after the awards presentation. “Her score was very close to that of a NCAA Regional Qualifier, and it is bittersweet that she won’t be able to compete at that level in her final season. We are still super proud of what she has accomplished this week. We are definitely going to miss her next year, she is an exceptional student and an even better person, which at the end of the day, that’s what I am most proud of!”
As the only Texan to compete in the first four WAC Championships in program history, she did not waste her opportunity in her final go-around. After finishing leading the Texans as a freshman, and finishing in the top 2 Texans as a sophomore and junior, she tied for second overall. The senior landed in the top five at the end of each of the first two rounds and used a strong final day to climb into a tie for second. She notched six birdies across the final 54 holes of her collegiate career. Her seven-over par (74-73-73) for a 220 is tied for the lowest score at the WAC Championship by a Texan in regards to par.
After Rodriguez had finished, a dramatic ending nearly made her co-champions. Eventual winner, ACU’s Ryann Honea, carded three bogeys and a double bogey in her first six holes of the back nine. Honea would finish the final three with a birdie and two pars to take the victory just three strokes ahead of Rodriguez and GCU’s Becca Tschetter. Honea will earn the WAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals as the top qualifier in the WAC.
“I am very proud on how the team competed this week, we have been working hard all season and the hard work paid off,” continued Jimenez. “We left a few strokes out there during this tournament, but the overall team performance proved to us that we can hang with the top teams in the WAC and that is a very exciting and refreshing way to finish the season.”
The Texans used strong second and third days to overcome ending the first day in eight place to finish in the top five for the first time in program history at the WAC Championship. Tarleton turned in total scores of 296 and 299 in the final two rounds to shoot 906, the best mark as a team. The Purple and White finished fifth in the 11-team field.
The team competition was very dramatic on the final day with four teams finishing within four strokes. ACU has controlled the leaderboard after both the first and second rounds, but faltered in the final day, surrendering its six-stroke lead. Seattle U became the benefactor, winning the WAC Championship by posting the lowest team score on the final day. The Redhawks carded 304-294-294 to total 892, 40-over par. ACU finished second posting 42-over par, followed by GCU (+43) and CBU (+44). The Texans’ 299 final round was tied for the third lowest on Sunday.
Lou Deltombe landed herself in the top 20, making it the third time in four seasons at the WAC Championship that a pair of Texans finished in the top 20. Deltombe tied for 16th following a 79-74-74 card for a 15-over par 228 in her debut at the WAC Championship.
Elle Fox finished just outside of the top 20, in a tie for 22nd. Fox found herself right on the edge of the top 20 at the end of each round carding a 77-76-76 in her second year in the WAC postseason. Each of her rounds this year improved her scores from last season and she ranked 28 places ahead of her tied for 50th finish last go-around in 2023.
Mathilde Brogens was unable to continue her momentum from Saturday after firing a two-over par 73, tied for the Texans best round this weekend. Ultimately she finished tied for 39th, with a plus-24, 237. Rebeca Fernandez shot her best round of the weekend on Sunday carding a 75. She finished tied for 43rd with a 26-over par, 239.
The Texans close their fourth season in its Division I era, and coach Jimenez sixth season at the helm of the program. Seniors Alejandra Combronero and Rodriguez end their collegiate careers with the Texans while the rest of the squad will have eligibility to return to the links for the Purple and White next fall.
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