The Fort Lewis College women’s golf team carded a three-round team score of 124-over-par to finish eighth in the 12-team Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championships played at Wigwam Golf Course in Litchfield Park, Arizona.

Westminster College claimed the title at 75-over, three shots in front of University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Colorado Mesa was third at 81-over.

The individual championship was won by Emily Shimkus of University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She shot an astounding 5-under 67 in the final round to take the title at 8-over. Colorado Christian’s Faith Kilgore placed second at 12-over, while Regis’ Kate Keuss and Colorado Christian’s Emily Donaldson tied for third at 13-over.

FLC’s Emma Tornoos, a sophomore from Sweden, led the Skyhawks with a tie for eighth place at 18-over. She shot 79 in each of the first two rounds before a final-round 73 to move up the leaderboard five spots.

“Emma doesn’t talk much, pretty quiet kid, but she wants to win and play well,” FLC head coach Jim Foltz said in a news release. “She put the time in practicing to help herself this past year, and I think mentally when she started playing better, she was able to see that she does belong and can compete at this level. Her confidence has soared and it showed in this tournament.”

Emilia Mantz, a junior from Sweden, tied for 30th at 33-over. Freshman Kendal Gutierrez was 38th at 38-over, senior Sophie Schwartz tied for 41st at 40-over and sophomore Madalen Meier, an alumna of the Durango High School golf team, was 55th at 66-over.

“I’m extremely happy with the ladies,” Foltz said. “They played hard and they played together as a team. I’m very pleased with the way the ladies have transitioned in playing competitive golf. It was a tough tournament, tough pin locations and windy conditions, but they kept us in the fight.”

jlivingston@durangoherald.com