In just the third collegiate golf tournament of her career, Master's freshman Hannah Ulibarri won the Redhawk Rumble National Preview Tournament on the par-71 Las Sendas Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz. Tuesday.
Ulibarri shot a 2-over 73 on the second day of the competition, the lowest round of the tournament by three strokes. Her two-round total of 152 bested her nearest rival by two shots.
"She played great and very level headed," said Master's Head Coach
Jacob Hicks. "Coming into this tournament, we knew that she was playing well and we had talked about her having a winning mindset and playing to win. And she did a great job of that, especially today. She hit a lot of quality shots the last few holes."
Slow play made what is considered a difficult course play even harder. Yet, Ulibarri played her final nine holes 1-under par.
"You have no control over what the other players are going to do," Hicks said. "So it comes down to your inner self-belief, and a championship player will focus only on what they can control. Hannah demonstrated that today."
The women's team finished third out of the six-team competition, with
Bella Huff finishing seventh, one of her best career finishes.
"(I am) super pleased with the way Bella played today," Hicks said. "She was very solid out there."
Peyton Grider finished 14th,
Nicole Southard 19th and
Ellie Daugherty 26th. The top four scores are used to determine th team score.
Master's men's golf, ranked No. 19 in the NAIA, carded an even-par 284 on the final day to win the men's side of the tournament, the third team victory in four events played this fall. The Mustangs trailed Rocky Mountain College by five strokes after day one but put together a 12-stroke swing in the second round to win by seven strokes over a field that included ten other teams.
Jack Dudeck struggled in his final round with seven bogeys but still finished in fourth place with a two-round score of even par 142. Easton Johnson stumbled on his last six holes after going out with a blistering 4-under 32 on the front nine before settling with a 1-over 143 over his two rounds and tied for fifth. Mitchell Briley's 2-under 69 was the second lowest round of day two, taking him to seventh, with both Lucas O'Dell and Johnson Lee finishing tied for 14th at 148.
"It was a tough day for Jack," Hicks said. "It keeps him hungry and I know it will motivate him during this off-season to get even better.
"Easton is playing some really solid golf as a freshman," he continued. "He's knocking on the door to get his first win for sure. He just loves being out on the course and is just a real competitor. He wants to be there... he wants the pressure and the moment."
Despite Dudeck's off day, the team at one point was 12-under on the day. Knowing how tough the course was playing, that surprised Master's head coach.
"The team honestly had the scuba gear on in the front nine," Hicks said. "The course was playing long, so for us to be at 12-under with Jack having an off day, I was like, 'Wow, this team's got some firepower.'"
Before the match, Hicks quoted Proverbs 21:31 to give his team some perspective.
"Prepare your horse for battle, but the Lord determines the victor," Hicks told them. "The results are in God's hands, and I felt the guys just looked really collected today. We had a good game plan, a good strategy and we stuck to that."
