LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz.— The Colorado Mesa University women's golf team recorded its first tournament win of the year while senior Payton Panzeri won an individual title for the first time in her career on Friday here at the Wigwam Golf Resort.
 
Panzeri, Anju Ogi and Hunter Gledhill all recorded 4-over par rounds of 74 on the Blue Course as the Mavs posted a team score of 308 (+28) on the day and a 36-hole total of 615 (+55) to win the Southwest Minnesota State University Challenge by 11 shots over the Augustana Vikings, who followed the Mavs around the course.
 
MSU Denver slipped back to finish third at 629 (+69) as they and the Rockhurst Hawks were paired with the Mavericks at the start of the tee time sheet.
 
Panzeri won the individual medal by four shots with a 36-hole total of 145 (+5).  Ogi and Gledhill also finished in the top five as Ogi took fourth at 152 (+12) while Gledhill was tied for fifth at 153 (+13) on the 5,631-yard, par-70 course.
 
The Mavericks held a 3-shot team lead after Thursday's first round and then fared quite well in Friday's round as Panzeri, Ogi, Gledhill all tied with Minnesota-Moorhead's Halle Balluff for the low round of the day, which saw the 62-player field average 86.27 strokes, nearly two more than Thursday's round.
 
Panzeri, a senior from Merdian, Idaho also doubled her final advantage in the individual standings as Minnesota-Crookston's Anaka Lysne finished with a round of 77 (+7) to slip back to third behind Augustana's Lanie Veenendall, who finished with a 75 (+5) to move up to second with her tournament total of 149 (+9).
 
Rockhurst's Arantza Zepeda, who was also tied for second alongside Lysne after Thursday's round also struggled on Friday, dropping back into a tie for seventh at 154 (+14) after carding an 81 (+11).
 
Panzeri's individual win was the Mavs' first since 2024, when Crystle Querol won the 2-team Maverick Challenge.  Cassidy Phelan also shared a pair of individual wins that season.
 
Meanwhile, Ogi recorded her first top five finish of her time at CMU after transferring from CSU Pueblo while Gledhill, a sophomore, tallied her second.
 
Libby Bourassa, playing as an individual, also fared well taking 18^th with a 36-hole total of 162 (+22).  She carded an 83 (+13) on Friday and registered her first top 20 finish of the season.
 
Elsewhere, McKenzie Dolph and Hayden Hawley both finished Friday's round with 86's (+16), one of which was counted toward the Mavs' team score.  Dolph slipped back to 23th with a total of 165 (+25) while Hawley moved up five spots to finish 34^th at 170 (+30).
 
The Mavericks will continue their season at the Southern Colorado Open in Pueblo on Mar. 22 and 23.