PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – University of Iowa senior Manuela Lizarazu fired a season-best round of 70 (-2) to lead the Hawkeyes in the final round of the White Sands Invitational at The Ocean Club Golf Course.
The round is Lizarazu’s best since her sophomore season. The Colombia native tied for 31st in the tournament with a 54-hole total 229 (79-77-73). She had four birdies and 12 pars during her final 18 holes.
Freshman Paula Miranda tied with Lizarazu in 31st place, firing a one-over 73 – her tournament-best score — on Sunday. The Mexico native had two birdies during the round to finish with a 229 (79-77-73) total.
Sophomore Klara Wildhaber tallied the highest individual finish for the Hawkeyes, tying for 17th place to notch her first top 20 finish of the season. Wildhaber shot a 76 during Sunday’s round to finish with a 221 total (74-71-76) – the best showing of the season.
Iowa finished with a 296 (+8), which was the team’s best round of the weekend by eight shots. The Hawkeyes finished with a 908 total (+44) to finish seventh in the team standings.
Campbell overtook Nebraska on the final round and bested the Huskers by four strokes, finishing with an 854 (-10).
IOWA SCORECARD
7 Iowa 308 304 296 908
T17 Klara Wildhaber 74 71 76 +5
T31 Manuela Lizarazu 81 78 70 +13
T31 Paula Miranda 79 77 73 +13
34 Dana Lerner 77 78 79 +18
36 Lilly Gentzkow 78 81 77 +20
QUOTING MEGAN MENZEL
“I was very pleased with Manuela and Paula’s strong play on the last day. They both battled through a tough couple of days and found a way to finish strong. Lilly has shown great growth this season so far, and I look forward to her effort to keep improving her game. Klara did not have the game she wanted today, but has gained momentum each event this fall, she is a key player for us this spring. Dana had a tough week, but many bright spots this fall. We have a lot to be thankful for being here this week and getting to play this amazing Ocean Course. We have good things to build on this fall.”
HAWKEYE NOTEABLES
– Lizarazu moved up five spots on the leaderboard during the final round.
– Three of five Hawkeyes posted their best round of the weekend on the final day.
– The Hawkeyes finished with 27 birdies for the three rounds.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will open the spring season in Palm Harbor, Florida, on Jan. 31-Feb. 1, competing in Big Ten Match Play.