Heading into the final round of the NCAA Central Regional Championships in sixth place, all the Northwestern women’s golf team had to do was maintain its starting position to advance to the second NCAA National Championship in the program’s 14 year history.
However, the Wildcats turned in the 17th-highest final-round score of the 21 teams in the field and finished in 10th place.
With the top eight teams in the tournament advancing to the NCAA Championships on May 23-26, the Cats were just seven shots away from booking a trip to Columbus, Ohio.
“It’s disappointing, but we did our best so you can’t really look at it in a negative way,” freshman Jennifer Hong said. “It just shows that we can compete with the best teams out there. It would’ve been nice to make it, but we only missed by seven shots, so big deal.”
After turning in scores of 20-over in each of the first two rounds, the Cats recorded a 25-over in their final round to finish the tournament at 65-over. Michigan State finished two shots ahead of the Cats for ninth place, while Nebraska claimed the eighth spot at 58-over.
Southern California finished in first place. Duke, which had led after the second round, finished in second place, just two shots behind Southern California. Pepperdine finished third, 18 shots behind Duke, while Florida finished fourth. Oklahoma State took fifth place and Kent State and Texas A&M tied for sixth.
Texas A&M’s Traditions Club proved to be a tough challenge this week. Many of the holes are very narrow and lined with trees, eliminating driver off of the tee and forcing a long-iron approach into the postage-stamp greens.
The conditions in the final round didn’t make life any easier for the Cats. In the final round, the course was very dry, windy and hot, in addition to the tougher pin locations that normally accompany a final round.
“It was a tough course with tough conditions, especially in the final round,” Hong said. “But we just missed some putts here and there that could’ve gone in. The other teams just played really well and passed us.”
Junior Alice Kim and Hong both finished in 21st place to lead NU individually. Kim was in second place for most of the first round before dropping to seventh after a double bogey on the final hole. She stood in 14th place after the second round before shooting a final round 77 to finish the week at 12-over.
Hong opened with a pair of 75s before shooting a 78 in the final round.
Sophomore Brittany Johnston finished in 64th place after shooting an 81 in the final round. Junior Heather Scholten finished one shot back in 66th place. Sophomore Katie Trachok placed 82nd after a disappointing week that included a first round 83 and a final round 84.
Southern California’s Irene Cho, the third-ranked player in the nation, claimed medalist honors, finishing the tournament as the only player under par at 2-under. The top-ranked player in the nation, Duke’s Amanda Blumenherst, finished in second place at 2-over.
While the Cats’ season may not have ended exactly as they would’ve liked, the Cats can’t help but be excited about next year. All five of the players will be returning next year, leaving the players very optimistic about next season.
“Obviously we are just going to improve and get better,” Hong said. “I feel very confident about next season. This past season was good, but nothing great. We are only going to improve, and we are all really excited about next year.”
Reach Michael Schlossberg at [email protected].
