RIO VERDE, Ariz. — South Dakota women's golf opened up its spring season this weekend at the Rio Verde Collegiate and finished 13^th at the Rio Verde CC. Ava Schroeder placed a top-10 finish individually after lowering her score each round.
 
Schroeder finished tied for eighth with a three-round score of 220 (77, 72, 71) finishing at +4 for the tournament. The Coyotes opened the weekend with a 303 in round one and shaved off two strokes on Saturday with a 301 but would card a 313 in the final round.
 
Round 1
Ella and Eva Greenberg were the top two Coyotes in the first go around the course with scores of 74 and 75, respectively. Ella Greenberg rolled in two birdies, while Eva Greenberg, Avery O'Donnell and Morgan Rupp had one each.
 
Round 2
Schroeder improved by five strokes from her first round to second round, carding a 72 in her second trip around Rio Verde CC with three birdies. Ella Greenberg continued her steady play, posting a second straight 74 and had four birdies.
 
Round 3
Schroeder started her final round with a birdie on the second hole, and would make the turn at one-under par. After a pair of birdies and bogeys during her back-nine, she would finish with a 71 (-1) to move up nine spots on the leaderboard to finish tied for eighth. Catie Nekola posted a 78 with four birdies, while Morgan Rupp, who played as an individual, carded a 75 with two birdies.
 
Individual Leaderboard
8          Ava Schroeder | 77, 72, 71
44        Eva Greenberg | 77, 78, 78
56        Catie Nekola | 75, 77, 79
91        Avery O'Donnell | 82, 80, 85
95        Ella Greenberg | 74, 74, DQ
 
85        Morgan Rupp (Ind.) | 81, 86, 85
 
The Coyotes head to Camarillo, California for their next tournament, the SoCal Spring Invitational, on Sunday, March 8.