RIO VERDE, Ariz.— Catie Nekola posted a score of 5-under par 67 in the third and final round of the Rio Verde Invitational in Rio Verde, Arizona.  In the process, she tied the USD record for a low single-round score by a women's golfer.   
 
Nekola's round included five birdies, and she played a bogey free round.  Her 67 tied the best individual round of anyone in the field all weekend and saw her leap 27 spots in the standings into a tie for 12^th place overall.  Her total score for three rounds was a 1-over par 217.
 
"I trusted myself a lot more today than I did the first two rounds," said Nekola following her round.  "I slowed down, took my time and was very confident throughout the whole round.  It made me feel very good once I finished that I never doubted myself all day." 
 
Said Nekola of being a record holder, "It feels amazing. I don't even know how to put it into words.  It feels great to have a part in the school record book."
 
Nekola's score of 67 tied her with teammate Ella Greenberg who posted her own record setting score of 67 earlier this fall.  "Ella and I are great friends," said Nekola.  "We have been tying each other our whole lives.  It is great to share this with her.  Hopefully we can go even lower."
 
Nekola added, "I am proud of what our team did this week.  We were able to come out hot and have a good tournament after the winter break."
 
As a team, the Coyotes finished tied for 11^th place in a 21-team field with an overall score of 28-over par on the weekend. 
 
Emma Henningsson was USD's second-best performer this weekend, finishing in a tie for 30^th place with an overall score of 5-over par.  She posted a 6-over par 78 today.  Freshman Ava Schroeder finished the tournament tied for 59^th after posting a 6-over par 78 today as well.  She finished 13-over par over three rounds.
 
Alexa Wingnean and Ella Greenberg rounded out the USD lineup finishing tied for 73^rd place overall.  Greenberg put up her best score of the weekend today, notching a second-on-the-team 2-over par 74 to finish at 17-over par overall.  Wingnean tallied a 4-over 76 today to match Greenberg at 17-over par overall. 
 
South Dakota battled with with a tight cluster of teams all weekend, moving from eighth to thirteenth in the standings regularly, and finishing tied for 11^th in the 21-team field.  Cal Baptist rallied past Xavier for the team title, while Ali Schrock of Illinois State snagged the individual championship by one stroke. 
 
The Coyotes will next be in action at the Puerto Rico Classic in Puerto Rico March 5^th through 7^th.  Follow @SDCoyotesWGolf on Twitter and stay tuned to GoYotes.com for the all the latest USD women's golf news.