SEDONA, Ariz. – Shooting a program-record team score of 1-over par 289 in Sunday's final round, the Navy women's golf team surged into first place as the three-round 2023 Red Rocks Invitational wrapped up at the Oakcreek Country Club in Sedona, Arizona.
 
Hosted by Northern Arizona University at the par-72, 6,200-yard course, Navy finished Saturday's first 36 holes in fourth place at 15-over par 591 courtesy of a 5-over par 293 opening round and a second round of 10-over par 298. The Midshipmen then got a pair of individual 2-under par 70 performances on Sunday to shoot the 1-over par 289 over the final 18 holes and post another program record via the tournament-winning overall team score of 16-over par 880.
 
Finding her way into a fifth-place finish, freshman Hallie Brisco shot a team-low of even-par 216 across all three rounds to finish just four strokes off tournament medalist Ellena Slater of Northern Arizona. Sitting in a four-way tie for first place at 3-under par 69 after the first 18 holes, the Navy rookie faltered in the second round on Saturday with a 5-over par 77 score, but roared back on Sunday with one of the Mids' two-under par 70 performances to pull herself into fifth place as play closed.
 
The next best Navy golfer was junior Mara Hirtle, who climbed the leaderboard all weekend after opening with a round of 4-over par 76. Hirtle improved to 2-over par 74 in the second round and posted Navy's other 2-under par 70 score on Sunday to end the weekend at 4-over par 220 and claim a share of 11th place.
 
Right behind Hirtle on the leaderboard was fellow junior Stephanie Lee in a tie for 15th overall, as Lee's opening-round score of 3-over 75 was followed by back-to-back rounds of 1-over par 73 to help her post a weekend score of 5-over par 221.
 
Brisco's fellow freshman Sue Lee finished up tied for 29th at 9-over par 225, shooting her personal weekend-low of 1-over par 73 in the first round before tallying scores of 3-over par 75 and 5-over par 77 in the final two rounds of play.
 
Rounding out the Navy lineup was senior captain Eve Worden, who tied for 53rd overall after posting round scores of 78, 76 and 76 to finish at 14-over par 230.
 
"We are so appreciative to all our hosts this week in Scottsdale," said head coach Nadia Ste-Marie. "We had many wonderful playing days, and I'm extremely proud of this team for what they accomplished the past two days."
 
The team's 16-over par 880 overall score for a 54-hole event eclipses the previous program low of 885 shot at the Bucknell Invitational on Sept. 25-26, 2021. The team's third-round score of 1-over par 289 also set a program record for lowest team round in relation to par, beating the 5-over par 293 shot by Navy in the final round of the Nittany Lion Invitational on Sept. 23, 2018.
 
Additionally, Brisco's first-round score of 3-under par 69 is tied for the second-lowest individual round in program history both overall and in relation to par, while her 54-hole score of 216 is the second-lowest in program history after teammate Bridget Hoang shot a 215 at the Lady Blue Hen Invitational during the fall.
 
Up Next
Navy returns to action on March 25 at the USNA Golf Club, hosting fellow Red Rocks Invitational participant Delaware for the Battle at the Bay dual match.