ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Mackenzie Carpenter turned in one of the best rounds in the history of MSU Denver women's golf and wound up tied for third individually Tuesday at the Nick Turner Invitational.
 
Carpenter shot a 2-under par 70, which was four strokes better than her career best and seven better than her season best, to finish the two-round tournament at 2-over 146 and one stroke behind Sydney Williams of Arkansas-Fort Smith and Caroline Wales of Cal State San Marcos. Williams, ranked 44^th individually in NCAA Division II, won a five-hole playoff for the title.
 
Carpenter, who had four birdies and an eagle during her round, was actually tied for first at even par with three holes to go before bogeys on two of her final three holes. Still, she wound up tied for third in the 78-player field with 89^th-ranked Estelle Beck of St. Mary's (Texas). Her final-round 70 is tied for the fourth-best round ever shot at MSU Denver.
 
Her eagle came on the 375-yard, par-4 18^th hole (Carpenter played the back nine first). On her second shot, from 192 yards out, she hit her "trusty" 5-wood and holed out.
 
"I'm so very proud of Mack," MSU Denver coach Stef Ferguson said. "That was a personal-best round for her. She stayed so steady all day and made lots of great decisions on the course. That finish in this field is so impressive and we are so excited for her."
 
Vaijayanti Bharkhada bounced back from a first-round 81 with a solid round of 3-over 75 on the 6,077-yard Arroyo del Oso Golf Course and tied for 38^th overall at 12-over. Bharkhada played her final 27 holes at 4-over.
 
"V hung in there well today too with a good comeback from yesterday," Ferguson said.
 
Winnie Shaw and Isabel Botero each shot 81 Tuesday to finish tied for 14^th (14-over) and tied for 47^th (15-over), respectively.
 
As a team the Roadrunners spent most of the day in ninth but dropped back to 10^th overall in the 15-team field at 312-307-619. Four of the top six teams in the field are ranked among the top 44 nationally.
 
"I wish as a team we could have had a little better finish with our 3 and 4 spots," Ferguson said. "We could have made a pretty big move today. But it was overall a good finish to the fall."
 
MSU Denver resumes competitive play in the spring.