TEMECULA, Calif. – Sparked by a 4-over 76 by Mackenzie Carpenter on her home course, the MSU Denver women's golf team finished fifth Tuesday at the San Marcos Shootout.
 
The Roadrunners played the 6,081-yard, par-72 Temecula Creek Inn course in 29-over 317, two strokes behind their first-round score, to finish at 632, one stroke behind fourth-place Lubbock Christian (Texas) and one stroke ahead of 49^th-ranked Colorado Mesa. The Roadrunners, who moved up from sixth after the opening round, topped three ranked teams at their last tournament.
 
"I'm proud of the girls for beating another ranked team this week," MSU Denver coach Stef Ferguson said. "Our finish wasn't the ideal, because we really could have moved into fourth place."
 
Vaijayanti Bharkhada shot 8-over to settle for a 10^th-place tie individually at 10-over, while Carpenter's strong second round put her tied for 20^th at 13-over.
 
"V had another good tournament with a top-10, and Mack finished really well today," Ferguson said.
 
Winnie Shaw overcame a tough opening round with a 78 on Tuesday, while Isabel Botero was 11-over Tuesday but still tied for 29^th overall at 16-over.
 
MSU Denver plays next on Friday and Saturday at the RJGA Palm Valley Classic in Goodyear, Ariz., then plays at the WT Desert Invitational in Tucson, Ariz., on April 3 and 4.

"We have some improvements to make heading into the next two events, but the girls are moving in the right direction heading into the next two," Ferguson said.