TYLER, Texas – Candice Nishimura shaved two strokes off her tournament-leading first-round score by firing a 5-over-par 77 Tuesday to propel her to the individual championship at the Al Jones Memorial Invitational at The Cascades.

Nishimura (San Mateo, Calif./Aragon) carded a two-day score of 156 and edged Sarah Stillwell of Schreiner by one stroke to win the title. The two players were tied at 79 at end of Monday's first round.

"The win was nice; it's a big weight lifted off my shoulder," Nishimura said of her first tournament victory as a collegiate golfer. "To finally put two days in the 70s together was nice, and to win by one stroke was even better."

Nishimura was incredibly consistent and accurate during her second round showing Tuesday. She only birdied one hole, but consistently achieved par throughout the day, even when she found herself in difficult spots.

"My ability to save par all day was key," she said. "I got into some pretty interesting situations and managed to save par which was a pretty tough task."

Nishimura and Stillwell were the only golfers to card consecutive sub-80 scores during the two-day tournament.

In achieving her lowest two-day score as a collegiate golfer, Nishimura also became the second LeTourneau player in three years to win UT Tyler's fall event. Her former teammate Leslie Lee, a 2011 graduate, won the event in Oct. 2009.

LeTourneau's Morgan Shinn (Houston, Texas) completed her second collegiate tournament with a two-day total of 175 to finish 17th place. Shinn carded a second-round score of 88 Tuesday after shooting an 87 during Monday's first round.

Ashley Woodley (Hallsville, Texas/Hallsville) shot 96 for LeTourneau during the first day of competition but withdrew from Tuesday's second round due to illness.

The YellowJackets compete in their final tournament of the fall semester in two weeks when they compete at the Schreiner Fall Classic. Opening round action begins Monday, Oct. 17.

-Courtesy LeTourneau University Sports Information Department