Hempel takes runner-up honors as Lions place fifth at Oklahoma Intercollegiate.

LAWTON, Okla. – The Texas A&M University-Commerce women’s golf team pushed for an event title but finished fifth at the 36-hole Oklahoma Intercollegiate on Monday in an event where seven strokes separated the top six teams. 

The Lions finished at 66-over par 634 (320-314), six strokes behind UT Tyler, and two strokes out of third place.

“Today’s conditions were tough! The course played extremely firm, and the entire field found it difficult to make adjustments,” said Lion head coach Lauren Mason. “Sophie shot a very solid round of even-par this afternoon to capture the individual runner-up position. We will continue to focus on improving our short game and putting over the next week or so to get prepared for our final event of the fall season.” 

Sophie-Charlott Hempel (Pirmasens, Germany) earned her highest individual finish, claiming runner-up honors at 10-over par 152 (81-71) for her second career top-five and eighth top 10 finish of her career. Her even-par round of 71 in the second round was the tournament’s lowest round. 

Paige-Lee Garris (West Palm Beach, Fla.) earned her 10th career top 10 finish, tying for ninth place at 15-over par 157 (76-81). 

Inma Ortiz Prieto (Huelva, Spain) placed 23rd at 163 (+21, 81-82), Karlee Nichols (Smithson Valley) placed 27th at 164 (+22, 82-82), Michelle Becker (San Antonio – Reagan) placed 36th at 167 (+25, 87-80), and individual competitor Lexi Bubenchik (New Concord, Ohio) placed 41st at 171 (+29, 89-82). 

The Lions close out their fall schedule on October 26-27 in Arlington, hosting the Lion Classic at the Texas Rangers Golf Club.

Rank	Team	Scores		Total	Par
1.	UT Tyler	315	313	628	+60
2.	Ark.-Ft. Smith	318	311	629	+61
3.	Angelo St.	318	314	632	+64
4.	West Texas A&M	324	309	633	+65
5.	A&M-COMMERCE	320	314	634	+66
6.	Midwestern St.	329	306	635	+67
7.	Cameron	318	328	646	+78
8.	Tex. A&M-Kingsville	329	324	653	+85
9.	Wayland Baptist	334	339	673	+105
10.	Lubbock Christian	344	340	684	+116

Tex. A&M-Commerce	320	314	634	+66	5th
Sophie-Charlott Hempel	81	71	152	+10	2nd
Paige-Lee Garris	76	81	157	+15	t-9th
Inma Ortiz Prieto	81	82	163	+21	t-23rd
Karlee Nichols	82	82	164	+22	t-27th
Michelle Becker	87	80	167	+25	t-36th
Lexi Bubenchik #	89	82	171	+29	t-41st

Lions lead Midwestern State Invitational after 36 holes with three players in the top 10

TAMUC notches the fifth-best 36-hole score and ninth-best 18-hole score in program history

WICHITA FALLS – The Texas A&M University-Commerce men’s golf team leads the Midwestern State Invitational after 36 holes of action on Monday. 

The Lions hold a five-stroke lead over hosts Midwestern State at 571 (+3, 289-282). The 36-hole score of 571 is the fifth-best in school history and the second round of 282 ties for the ninth-best round in school history. 

“The guys played extraordinarily well today, fighting through some tough blustery conditions in the morning round and holding it together to attack in the afternoon,” said Lion assistant coach Lucas McCubbin. “If we can eliminate some of the mental mistakes we had out there on a few holes today, we would be in the lead by 20 with how we played today. Tomorrow will be a fun day for us, and the guys are extremely pumped to be in this situation for the first time this year.” 

Zach Burch (Lubbock – Cooper) leads the Lions in fifth place at 2-under par 140 (73-67), with the second round tying his low career round. He had four birdies in the opening round, followed by five birdies in the second round. Burch scored five birdies in his last 11 holes, and he leads the tournament at 5-under par on par-four holes. 

Nathan McCulloch (Edinburg, Scotland) makes his Lion debut and is tied for seventh on the leaderboard at even par 142 (70-72). He notched four birdies in the first round and two birdies in the second round, leading the tournament in par three, scoring at 2-under. 

Tripp Wallace (Wolfforth – Frenship) is in 10th place at 1-over par 143 (74-69) with four birdies in each round. 

Brody Blackmon (Sulphur Springs) is in 23rd place at 5-over par 147 (72-75) with seven birdies, while Joe Wolcik (Cleveland – Tarkington) and Simon Haas (Lorch, Germany) are tied in 37th at 8-over par 150. 

The Lions will look to close out the tournament and hold off charges from Midwestern State and Hutchinson (Kan.) CC with 18 holes Tuesday, starting at 8:30 am. 

Rank	Team	Scores		Total	Par
1.	A&M-COMMERCE	289	282	571	+3
2.	Midwestern St.	296	280	576	+8
3.	Hutchinson CC	297	281	578	+10
4.	UT Tyler	296	286	582	+14
	West Texas A&M	294	288	582	+14
6.	Cameron	299	289	588	+20
7.	Dallas Baptist	291	298	589	+21
8.	Arkansas-Ft. Smith	293	297	590	+22
9.	Western N.M.	288	303	591	+23
10.	Tex. A&M International	296	297	593	+25
11.	Colorado Christian	313	291	604	+36
12.	Cameron B	305	311	616	+48

 

A&M-Commerce	289	282	571	+3	1st
Zach Burch	73	67	140	-2	5th
Nathan McCulloch	70	72	142	E	t-7th
Tripp Wallace	74	69	143	+1	10th
Brody Blackmon	72	75	147	+5	23rd
Joe Wolcik	76	74	150	+8	t-37th
Simon Haas #	76	74	150	+8	t-37th