Final Results

FORT COLLINS, Colo.-Two Bulldogs began the 2016-17 season with Top-5 finishes Tuesday as Ciera Min took second and Bianca Pagdanganan finished fourth at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic at Ptarmigan Country Club in Fort Collins, Colorado. As a team, the Gonzaga University women's golf squad placed third.

Min climbed four spots up the leaderboard thanks to a 4-under-par 68 during the final round. The senior did her damage in the middle of the round, birdieing Nos. 7, 8, 10, and 14 while shooting par on the other 14. She ended the tournament with 211 strokes (-5), the second-lowest tournament score in program history in relation to par and third by total strokes. Only Alice Kim (210, -6) and Han Wu (210, E) have ever counted fewer strokes in a round.

"Ciera played great golf this week," said Brad Rickel, GU women's golf coach. "She was really solid from tee to green and was in a great competitive spirit. A bogey-free final round of 4-under today in the cold, rainy conditions was a great round."

Two strokes off Min's pace, Pagdanganan took fourth place, counting 213 strokes (-3) during the two-day competition. She ended the tournament with a 73 (+1) after playing the final six holes at 4-under-par Tuesday. Her 56-hole total also was her lowest career score and tied for the fourth-lowest in program history.

"Bianca struggled on the front side of this golf course and had a tough time getting going today," Rickel said. "Just like yesterday, she blistered the back nine. I'm proud of how she battled back."

Sophomore Jena Gao tied for 35th with a tournament score of 229 strokes (+13), the third-best finish of her young career. She shot 79 (+7) during Tuesday's final round.

Freshmen Jessica Mangrobang and Nina Novilla each wrapped up their first collegiate tournament with an 8-over 80 Tuesday. Mangrobang finished in a tie for 67th with 236 strokes (+20) in Fort Collins while Novilla tied for 71st with 238 (+22).

As a team, Gonzaga held steady in third place after counting 300 strokes (+12) during the final round. They wrapped up the tournament with 889 total, 25 strokes above par and three ahead of West Coast Conference foe San Francisco.

San Jose State won the tournament with a score of 871 (+7), while the Spartans' My Leander took medalist honors with a tally of 210 (-6), two strokes fewer than Min.

"Third place in this field is a good start to the year," Rickel said of his team's start to the season. "We need to work hard to have a more complete performance next week. Nina and Jess need to learn from this week. They now understand how we do things and how challenging college golf is, next week they will go into it with this experience and it will help them."

The Zags continue the fall season next week at San Jose State's Juli Inkster Spartan Invitational. That tournament will run Monday, Sept. 19 to Tuesday, Sept. 20 at Almaden Golf and Country Club in San Jose, California.