HUNTSVILLE, Texas – On the strength of a season-low-tying 71 by Kate Tran in the 2nd round to propel her to 2nd place overall, the UT Arlington women's golf team is in sole possession of 3rd place after 36 holes of Sam Houston's Bearkat Invitational from Raven Nest Golf Club.
 
The Mavericks posted rounds of 307 and 299 – tied for the 12th-best round ever by the program – to sit in 3rd place with a 606 total. Host Sam Houston leads the 11-team field with a 582, while Houston Baptist resides in 2nd with a 591 entering Tuesday's final round.
 
Tran shot an opening-round 3-over 74 before turning it around with an even-par 71 in her 2nd round on the par-71, 6,126-yard layout. The 71 is tied for the 10th-best round in program history (along with 11 others), and it's Tran's 9th career round of 71 or lower – the most of anyone in program history.
 
At +3 overall, Tran is tied for 2nd in the 67-player field, just one stroke behind Anna Takahashi (+2) from Sam Houston. With her 36-hole total of 145, Tran is tied for the 3rd-best score at this juncture of a tournament in program history; she occupies the top-2 positions (141, 144).
 
UTA STANDINGS/SCORES
T-2 ) Kate Tran: 74-71: 145 (+3)
T-10) Madigan Murray: 74-75: 149 (+7)
T-27) Sydney Garber: 79-78: 157 (+15)
T-27) Connor Howard: 82-75: 157 (+15)
T-30) Janane Tan: 80-78: 158 (+16)
* T-27) Abigail Adams: 82-75: 157 (+15)
* Competing As An Individual
 
INSIDE THE SCORES

• Tran began her 1st round with six-consecutive pars after commencing action on the 9th hole. The senior registered a team-best three birdies during the 1st round, including a closing one on the par-3 8th, but also posted a pair of bogeys and doubles. Tran was playing level-par golf through her first 10 holes during the 2nd round (one birdie, one bogey), and remained that way the rest of the day as she offset two bogeys with two more birdies. All three of her birdies in the 2nd round came on par 3s.
   
• Murray started her day on the 7th hole and made six-straight pars as well before finishing her opening 18 with a pair of birdies, three bogeys and a double. In the 2nd round, she converted 12 pars, nothing higher than a bogey and one birdie.
   
• Garber started her day with a birdie on the 8th, but that would be her only one of the 1st round. Her 2nd round featured nine pars through the first 11 holes, but a string of bogeys coming in set her back.
   
• Howard posted UTA's only birdie of the 1st round on the par-5 14th, but that would be her only one of the round. Her 2nd round got off to a rocky start as she sat at +5 through 10 holes, but she played the final eight in 1-under courtesy of seven pars and a birdie.
   
• Tan got off to a tough start and couldn't recover as she rolled in just birdie on her 1st round. However, she closed that opening round with five pars in a row, and carried that momentum into the 2nd round as she sat at even par through eight holes thanks to a birdie and bogey before settling for a 78.
   
• Playing as an individual, Adams was unable to record any sub-par holes in her 1st round; however, that immediately changed in the 2nd round as she began it was an eagle on the par-5 9th. She added a birdie on the par-5 14th and had her card at -3 heading to 16 (her eighth hole of the 2nd round), but settled for a 75 – still three shots better than her previous season low.

 THIS AND THAT

• The eagle by Adams – the only one made by the field on Monday – was the second of the year for the Mavs. The first came courtesy of Tan, who holed out on the par-4 14th at Texas Rangers Golf Club at UTA's home event in October. Ironically enough, Tan was also competing as an individual that week.
   
• Tran leads the field in par-3 scoring (2.60, -4) through two rounds, and is tied for the most birdies with six. Murray leads UTA in par-4 scoring (4.11, +2) and is tied for 2nd in the field. Adams and Tran paced the Mavs and are tied for 6th overall in par-5 scoring (5.00, E).
   
• If the Mavs can maintain their top-3 position, it will go down as the team's best finish ever in a tournament which features double-digit schools. The current best is a solo 4th (out of 10) at Lamar's Cardinal Challenge in April of 2019 – the program's second year of existence.

FINAL-ROUND TEE TIMES
8:35 AM: Kate Tran – Hole 4
8:35 AM: Madigan Murray – Hole 4
8:35 AM: Sydney Garber – Hole 5
8:35 AM: Connor Howard – Hole 5
8:35 AM: Janane Tan – Hole 6
8:35 AM: Abigail Adams – Hole 6
 
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ABOUT TEXAS RANGERS GOLF CLUB
Opened in February of 2019, the state-of-the-art Texas Rangers Golf Club is the new home of UTA's men's and women's golf programs. The world's only Major League Baseball-branded golf course, TRGC is the result of a $24 million renovation and updated routing of the former Chester W. Ditto Golf Course.
 
The Home of UTA Golf was designed by UTA alumni John Colligan and Trey Kemp of Arlington-based Colligan Golf Design. It features an expansive 23-acre practice area, and a new 33,871-square-foot clubhouse – which opened in March 2021 – will feature a full-service restaurant and bar, covered patio overlooking the golf course, pro shop, locker rooms and numerous rental and event spaces. For more information about TRGC, click here.