SHAWNEE – Valentina Nunez-Butzonitch cut her strokes by two in the final round of play at the Diffee Ford Lincoln Invitational to place in a tie for 22nd overall on Tuesday evening. Nunez-Butzonitch shot a two-over 73 after charting a 76 (+5) in the inaugural round.
As a squad, Oklahoma Baptist placed 10th among a 16-team field that featured three teams ranked in the top 40 in Division II.
Nunez-Butzonitch finished one-over on each stretch of nine holes, including a two-stroke improvement on the back nine from Monday and an eagle. Furthermore, it was her lowest round this season.
Next up was Karlee Holcomb, who tied for 36th with a final round 75 (+4), a five-stroke improvement from yesterday's 80 (+9). Holcomb joined Nunez-Butzonitch as the only Bison with one-over cards on the back nine.
Morgan Becker and Josie Patterson each shot 77 (+6) today. Becker claimed a tie for 41st after finishing one stroke higher than Patterson's 16-over 158 total for the tournament, which placed in a tie for 45th.
Hayden Meiser shot 78 (+7) for a tie at 48th, and Lindyn Ross took T-63rd with a final-round 81 (+10). Rylie Spaulding carded a 13-stroke improvement, shooting OBU's third-best score of the day at 76 (+5). Spaulding's run on the front nine tied for the team-best and was highlighted by a birdie on hole two.
Sam Lehr and Rylei Gunter round out the Bison in the 87th and 95th spots on the leaderboards. Lehr shot an 85 (+14), while Gutner turned in a 93 (+22).
Next up, Oklahoma Baptist travels to Emerald Coast Collegiate Classic on March 12-14 in Destin, Fla.
