Kentucky, Laney Frye Finish Runner-Up at NEXUS Collegiate
NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The University of Kentucky women’s golf team finished runner-up at the NEXUS Collegiate on Wednesday, recording a 15-over in the final round to assemble an 18-over-par 882 for the event. Laney Frye also finished runner-up on a 1-under for the tropical tournament, which was held at the Albany County Club in Nassau, Bahamas.
Kentucky, who played in a shotgun format, got off to a promising start to the final round, holding the lead just before the turn. However, the lineup began to experience trouble on the back nine, turning in a 13-over through those holes. Several Wildcats had time to recover on the front nine, with just a few more holes remaining for them, but it wasn’t enough to chase the team charging up the leaderboard.
Tulsa, who began the day in fourth place, paced its way to the top, ultimately turning in a 4-over in the final round Wednesday. The Hurricanes recorded a 15-over-par 879 tournament total, three shots better the Wildcats, to finish in first place.
Frye, a Nicholasville, Kentucky, native, who started the day in second place, got off to a hot start herself.
The senior used the first six holes to go 3-under on a birdie and an eagle on the par-5 No. 6. She also used her final six holes to go 1-under, thanks a birdie on the par-4 No. 14. But, sandwiched in the middle of her final round, Frye experienced five holes that featured a bogey and two double bogeys, creating to big of a gap to climb out of under pressure.
The Wildcat finished the final round 1-over, putting together a 1-under-par 215 through 52 holes to finish runner-up. It marked the All-American’s first runner-up performance in her college career.
Moreover, she improved her streaks to seven straight tournaments finishing par-or-better and nine straight tournaments finishing in the top 20.
Marissa Wenzler and Jensen Castle turned in identical tournament totals of 6-over-par 222 to finish in a tie for 15th place.
Wenzler earned a 4-over in the final round, while Castle logged a 6-over. Castle, who fired a team-high four birdies on her scorecard Wednesday, suffered a quadruple on her second-to-last hole, the par-4 No. 18, however the veteran rallied on her final hole of the tournament with a birdie on the par-4 No. 1.
Marta López Echevarría matched her first round 76 with a final round 76, sprinkling a trio of birdies throughout her scorecard. The junior concluded her third tournament of the season with a 9-over-par 225, finishing in a tie for 25th place.
María Villanueva Aperribay had an uncharacteristic 11-over-par 83 in the final round, as the graduate student suffered a pair of triples. She concluded the tournament 16-over to finish T47.
Competing as an individual at the NEXUS Collegiate, Cathryn Brown recorded 12 pars and three birdies through her final 15 holes to help her clean up a couple of blemishes from earlier in the round and record an even-par 72 on Wednesday. The freshman finished 11th place on the individual leaderboard on a 5-over-par 221.
Scorecard
T2 Laney Frye 68, 74, 73 … 215 (-1)
T15 Marissa Wenzler 71, 75, 76 … 222 (+6)
T15 Jensen Castle 72, 72, 78 … 222 (+6)
T25 Marta López Echevarría 76, 73, 76 … 225 (+9)
T47 María Villanueva Aperribay 74, 75, 83 … 232 (+16)
IND: T11 Cathryn Brown 71, 78, 72 … 221 (+5)
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
