Fiona Legesse/The Cougar

The Cougars are heading into winter break after finishing at No. 10 in Battle at the Beach at Club Campestre San Jose in Mexico.

Although it was the worst finish of its fall season, UH has much to look forward to after its time off.

Senior All-American Leonie Harm began the first round with a birdie in the eighth hole and two more to round out her back nine. Harm put up a score of 72 that put her in a tie for No. 8 after the first day of play.

Freshman Hannah Screen found herself just four spots behind Harm with a score of 73. Freshman Maria Jose Martinez tied for No. 66, while redshirt seniors Tatiana Pineda and Maddy Rayner tied for No. 74.

The second day of the tournament saw Houston climb one spot as Screen and Harm surged further into the top 10.

Screen almost tied the school record of 65 after her seven birdies took her to a 66-point second round less than a week after Harm tied it herself.

Harm finished the day on-par with a 71 and moved up one spot to tie for No. 7 with a 143 total score on the tournament.

Pineda moved up with a score of 157 to put her tied for No. 61. Martinez and Rayner did not fare as well, and they dropped to tie for No. 81 and No. 84, respectively.

Houston dropped down to No. 10 behind Virginia after its 301-point performance Sunday gave it a 900-point total for the competition.

Both Screen and Harm experienced drops after the two went four over par in the final round, with the freshman ending the tournament tied at No. 7 with a total score of 214 and the senior at No. 18.

Experiencing a fall of her own, Pineda tied for No. 71. Martinez remained tied for No. 81 with a score of 236, and Rayner dropped to No. 85 with 239.

Houston will hit the green again Feb. 17-19 when it tees off at the Allstate Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Championship in New Orleans.

sports@thedailycougar.com