Jags roar back to tie for second at Claud Jacobs Invitational

Two more career rounds on the final day of the Claud Jacobs Invitational helped the UHV women's golf team storm back to finish in a tie for second.

Senior Mia Lerma shot a one-under 71 at The Club at Colony Creek while junior Emmily Bickelmann carded an even-par 72 as the Jaguars (330-309—639) shaved off 21 strokes from their opening round to tie with conference foe Rocky Mountain College for second.

"I've got to give coach Taylor (Dedmen) a bunch of credit. She put in a good week of practice with them," said head coach Garrett Adair. "After our first tournament (this spring), we knew that was kind of a fluke. So we knew we had to come out today and stay consistent. It was going to be a little tough out here with the win. But they continued to battle and didn't let themselves get rattled. We talked about playing with no fear. Obviously, tying a conference opponent that's ranked way ahead of us is big and seeing we're not far off is huge."

Lerma (80-71—151) improved 10 places to finish third in the tournament while Bickelmann (85-72—157) shot up 21 spots on the leaderboard for a top 10 finish at T-9.

"I had a good par streak going and then I finally got a birdie," Lerma, the Mission, Texas, native, said. "I just felt like I was in control of what was going on even though the elements were a lot more difficult today. I just stayed in my zone and just persevered. To place third here at the Claud Jacobs and finally see some red numbers, it's amazing."

Lerma, who started on hole 7, went bogey-free for her first 12 holes and was 1-under heading into her final six before a pair of bogeys on holes 1 and 3. Those were the only blemishes on her card.

She rallied on the par 5 fourth, carding an eagle and going par-par on her final two holes en route to a career-best round.

"This is who she is," Adair praised. "She can use this momentum. It's much needed and the right time to do it. Getting a little later in the season, I'm hoping this can push her along. At the end of the season, I expect her to be competing for that conference title individually."

Bickelmann's career round marked the sixth time this season the Weisbaden, Germany, native turned in a scorecard in the 70s.

A pair of 83s from twin sisters Caitlyn (78-83—161, T-15) and Cecelia Niemietz (92-83—175, T-39) rounded out the four contributing scores for the Jaguars on Tuesday. Kaitlin Lopez fired an 85 in the final round to go with her 87 on Monday to finish T-31.

"I think the biggest thing is the girls just seeing it for themselves," Adair said. "It's like shooting par for the first time; you have to see it to believe it. Then, once you see it, you know it's attainable. Hopefully we can all put it together, this next week would be good. I'm looking forward to it."

Laney Glass (91-92—183, 47th) competed as an individual for the Jaguars.

UHV will next compete in the Schreiner Shoot-out in Kerrville March 4-5.