2015 Midwestern State Invitational Final Results

WICHITA FALLS, Texas — On a day when a majority of the top players saw their scores go up, freshmen Sterling Hawkins and Shu-lin Lin took their opportunity Tuesday to move up the leaderboard and help lead the Academy of Art University women's golf team to a third place finish at the Midwestern State Invitational.
 
Hawkins shot a four-over 76 in Tuesday's final round, improving upon her 78 from Monday's opening round to jump 10 spots in the individual standings and finish tied for sixth overall, her first top-10 finish of the season. Hawkins' improved performance was a rare one Tuesday, as 21 of the top-30 individuals saw their scores increase on the second day.
 
Lin also scaled the leaderboard Tuesday, improving her score by six strokes from the first day to climb 26 spots and finish tied for 11th after a second round 76. Sophomore Roxanne Matta was one stroke behind Hawkins for the tournament, finishing in ninth place with a 77-78—155. She tied for the most birdies in the tournament with eight, including five on Tuesday alone.
 
Academy of Art also moved up in the standings by being one of only two teams out of 16 to improve their score from day one. The Knights erased a five-stroke deficit to eclipse Tarleton State and finish third with a 626 (314-312) team total. The Urban Knights were only two strokes behind No. 22-ranked (golfstat.com) West Texas A&M (308-316—624) and nine behind tournament winner and host No. 28 Midwestern State (302-315—617). The Urban Knights topped No. 34 St. Mary's (Texas) (333-343—676) by 50 strokes.
 
Sophomore Crystal Wang fell back in the standings in the final round with a 10-over 82, her highest score in 14 rounds during the 2014-15 season. Freshman Maria Fernanda also competed for the Urban Knights, finishing tied for 51st (87-85—172).
 
The Urban Knights now have three top-three finishes in 2014-15 and will look for another at their next tournament starting Monday at the Cal State Monterey Bay Otter Invitational in Seaside, Calif.