Maddy Rayner Finishes Second at Texas State Amateur Championship
7/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
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WACO, Texas â€" University of Houston Women's Golf sophomore Maddy Rayner fell just short in the WTGA State Amateur Championship title match, dropping a 3 and 2 decision to Annika Clark on Friday morning at Ridgewood Country Club.
The match was All Square through the first two holes before Clark went birdie-par-birdie on Nos. 3-5 to win three straight holes.
The score remained that way until the 329-yard, par-4 11th hole when Rayner trimmed the deficit to 2 down with a par. However, she bogeyed the par-3 12th hole to fall back to 3 down and could only match Clark over the next four holes.
The loss capped a spectacular run for Rayner, who won four straight matches during the previous three days to earn her place in the championship match. Starting the tournament as the No. 5 seed, the Southlake, Texas, native enjoyed a 1 up win over Jessica Garza on Tuesday and followed that with a 3 and 2 win over Lydia Traylor on Wednesday.
The Carroll High product spent all day on the course Thursday. She won on the 19th hole against Megan Woods in Thursday's Quarterfinal match and followed that hours later with a 3 and 2 victory over Abby Newton in the Semifinals to advance to the championship showdown.
As a freshman at UH in 2014-15, Rayner competed in five tournaments with three rounds of par or better. She tied for 16th with a score of 224 in her collegiate debut at The "Mo"Morial and tied for 14th at the HBU Husky Invitational at Riverbend Country Club in Sugar Land, Texas, in late March.
Rayner was only one of four Cougars who performed well at the Texas State Amateur Championship this week. Junior Emily Gilbreth advanced to the semifinals before bowing out to Clark on Thursday afternoon.
Gilbreth, who prepped at Bellaire High, competed as the tournament's No. 2 seed and enjoyed a 4 and 3 win over Kristin Glesne on Tuesday. She claimed a 6 and 5 win over Rylee Pedigo in the Round of 16 on Wednesday and moved into the Semifinals with a 3 and 2 win over No. 7 seed Julie Houston.
Sophomore Megan Thothong earned the tournament's No. 1 seed after firing a 68 in Monday's qualifier and took a 3 and 2 win over Grace Choi before being upset on the 19th hole in the Round of 16.
Gilbreth finished third among the Cougars with a 75.24 scoring average and enjoyed a fourth-place finish at the Jim West Challenge to cap the fall season.
Thothong stood second on the team with a 74.41 average and nine rounds of par or better. The Dallas native became only the second player in school history to win a tournament individual championship, thanks to a school-record 68 in the Final Round, and helped lead the Cougars to their first team championship at the UNF Collegiate on March 9-10.
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