Yada Shoots 69 As Portand State Vikings Post Best Score in Four Years

Las Vegas, NV - Freshman Britney Yada was at it again, shooting a three-under par 69 to lead her Portland State team in the first round of the UNLV Spring Invitational.

It was Yada’s second sub-par round in a week as she comes off her best performance as a Viking at the Fresno State Lexus Classic on Mar. 1-2.
In that tournament, she shot a six-over par 220, including a one-under par second-round 71.

On Monday, Yada bettered that single-round performance a three-birdie, no-bogey 69 at Boulder Creek Golf Club. Her three-under par score is the sixth in Portland State history and just one off the school-record of 68, shot by Taya Battistella in 2003.

Yada, who led her Vikings to a six-over par 294 on the first day of a three-day, 54-hole event, is tied for fourth, four shots behind Kayla Mortellaro of Idaho, who shot seven-under 65. In all, 16 of the 95 players competing broke par on Monday

The Vikings’ 294 score ties for the third-best single round in school history, and the best in four years. This, despite having just four available players for this week’s tournament.

Leading the tournament is host UNLV, which shot a team score of seven-under par 281. Idaho is three shots back at three-under 285.

Sophomore Tiffany Schoning also had a good day, shooting two-over par 74, her best score this season. She is currently tied for 29th. Junior Kalyn Dodge matched her season-best score with a 75. She is tied for 44th. Another junior, Alexia Brown shot 76 on Monday and is tied for 49th.

The UNLV Spring Invitational continues with 18-hole rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday. The 54-hole event is being played at Boulder Creek Country Club, a 6,246-yard, par-72 course.

TEAM NOTES: Normally, five players compete for a four-player team score in collegiate golf tournaments, but injuries and other issues allowed the Vikings to travel only four players… Yada’s 69 is the best score by a Viking since Kayla Morinaga shot a second-round 69 in the 2007 Heather Farr/Colorado Memorial… there have now been 28 under par rounds in PSU history… Brown has shot four straight rounds in the 70s, and seven of the last eight…  Schoning has shot eight of 10 rounds in the 70s during the 2009-10 season… Yada has shot no worse than 78 in her last seven rounds… Portland State is the only Big Sky Conference team competing at the UNLV Spring Invitational… six teams ranked in the top 50 are competing in the tournament - the Vikings stand ahead of three of them.

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Team Scores
1. UNLV, 281
2. Idaho, 285
T3. Ball State, 289
T3. Missouri, 289
5. Texas Tech, 292
6. Baylor, 293
7. Portland State, 294
8. Nebraska, 295
T9. Wisconsin, 298
T9. Tulsa, 298
T9. BYU, 298
T12. Texas State, 300
T12. New Mexico State, 300
14. Texas, 302
15. Campbell, 303
16. Oregon State, 304
17. Wyoming, 310
18. Washington State, 311

Individual Scores
1. Kayla Mortellaro, Idaho, 65
2. Valdis Jonsdittar, Texas State, 67
3. Therese Koelbaek, UNLV, 68
T4. Britney Yada, Portland State 69
T4. Kristtini Cain, Ball State, 69
T4. Amanda Jacobs, Idaho, 69
T4. Kristen Schelling, UNLV, 69
T8. Lene Hafsten-Morch, Baylor, 70
T8. Hannah Lovelock, Missouri, 70
T10. seven players Tied at 71
 
Portland State Scores
T4. BriTney Yada, 69
T29. Tiffany Schoning, 74
T44. Kalyn Dodge, 75
T49. Alexia Brown, 76