BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (4/11/2021) -- Senior Kendall Payne challenged for the lead and ended up with a career-best score and second place and senior Alexa Hatz tallied one of the best rounds in school history as the University of Detroit Mercy women's golf team finished the regular season at the Dolores Black Falcon Invitational on Sunday.

The Titans ended the tournament tied for sixth with a season-low 623 (317-306) at the par 72, 5,929-yard Stone Ridge Golf Club, four shots out of the top five. The 306 in the second round was also a season-best and the 623 total team score is tied for the 12th best mark in school history and the best 36-hole event by the program since 2014. 

"Posting a 306 today as a team with the wet weather and cooler temps was an outstanding performance and made me extremely proud," said head coach Larry Hamilton. "It allowed us to jump up six shots on the leaderboard from day one and finish ahead of many of our toughest regional rivals and should provide us great momentum heading into our conference championship in two weeks."

Payne followed up her career-low 73 in round one with another 73 for a career-best 146, just two shots out of first. She once again had a slow start with back-to-back bogeys to begin her round, but turned that around knocking in 11 pars and three birdies the rest of the way, including playing 2-under in her final eight holes. 

The 146 is tied for the fifth-best 36-hole score in the school record book and the best 36-hole tournament by a Titan since the fall of 2012. 

Hatz shared 11th with a 152 (80-72), but her even-round 72 on the day is tied for the eighth-best effort in school history. She had two birdies and five pars in her first nine holes and then posted seven pars with an eagle on the par 5, 7th hole in her last nine. 

Senior Julia Shaw tied her career-best with a 162 (80-82) to tie for 52nd, while senior Elle Greenlee tied her career-best with a 163 (84-79) for 56th as she registered a career-low 79 on the final 18. 

"We had some great individual performances as well. Seeing Kendall (Payne) shoot 73/73 and finish in second place individually amongst a very strong field of 15 teams was outstanding. Her improved ability to manage her game was really on display this weekend and was fun to watch. It was great to see Alexa (Hatz) shoot even par on day two and play her last 12 holes 2-under par. We also saw Elle (Greenlee) post her individual low score as a collegiate golfer. There certainly are a lot of positives we will take from this event," added coach Hamilton.

Detroit Mercy will now get ready for the Horizon League Championship, set for April 25-27 at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. 

Event Notes:

• The Titans finished ahead of all three Horizon League school's in the tournament (Youngstown State, UIC, Oakland)
• Detroit Mercy led the field with a +12, 3.30 average on the course's par 3's
• The 306 score in the final round was the best since posting a 305 in the final round of the 2016 NKU Fall Classic
• The team's 623 was the best score since the Titans totaled a 622 at the 2014 Dayton Invitational
• It was the third career top-10 finish for Payne, while the 146 was nine strokes better than her previous career low of 155, accomplished in three events
• Payne's seven birdies in the event was tied for the most on the weekend, while she also led the team with 22 pars
• Hatz's 72 was the best round by a Titan since Sarah Thompson's 71 in the first round of the Dayton Fall Invitational in 2016
• Hatz had one of the two eagles in the tournament on the weekend
• Hatz now has rounds of 72, 73 and 74 in her last four rounds
• Greenlee's previous career-low was an 80 done three times, including twice this season