Arevalo rallies to win Tucson college meet
TUCSON, Arizona – San Jose State’s Abby Arevalo closed out with a two-under 70 to beat Illinois’ Tristyn Nowlin by two for the individual crown while powering San Jose State to second behind Illinois in team competition in the MountainView Collegiate in Tucson, Arizona over the weekend.
Arevalo fired a 70 in the first round, struggled with a 73 in the next before rallying with five birdies at the back in the final day to string a 38-32 card and top the 54-hole tournament with a three-under 213 aggregate.
Nowlin, who shared the first round lead with teammate Grace Park and San Jose’s Alexandra Cooper with 69s, failed to recover from a second 75 as she wound up with a 71 for a 215 for joint second with Park, who made a 70. Cooper placed fourth with a 216.
But San Jose failed to complete a sweep as it pooled an 884 and finished second to Illinois (875) in team competition. “I’m very happy to win this tournament. I never gave up despite the bad start (in the final round),” said Arevalo, referring to her 38 card after nine holes. “I was committed to sticking to the game plan, and that paid off with the win that I have been wanting for a while. I was so pumped up, cheering on my teammates throughout the round.”
She made three bogeys in the first eight holes but birdied the ninth and gained on that feat at the back. She came away with back-to-back birdies from No. 11 then added another pair on Nos. 16 and 17 to cap her comefrom-behind victory.
“Our second-place finish is good for us,” said Spartan head coach John Dormann. “I loved seeing Abby win this tournament. I know she has this type of performance in her and hopefully can feed off this win for the rest of the year. Hopefully, this tournament puts us on an upswing heading into Silverado.”
The Spartans compete next at the Silverado Showdown on April 8-10 at the Silverado Resort and Spa.