After shooting their lowest scores of the year, the Wildcats finished in sixth place overall in last weekend’s Mountain View Collegiate in Tucson, Ariz.
This tournament marked one of the best performances of the season for Northwestern. The Cats tied their highest finish from the fall season and shot their lowest score of the year, while simultaneously surpassing the year’s birdie record.
“I’m really very pleased with the team’s performance last weekend,” coach Emily Fletcher said. “We were training in Scottsdale, Ariz. for the week of spring break and we were able to see our hard work pay off in this tournament.”
NU came out strong in the first round, shooting a 9-over par 297. Senior Jennifer Hong led the team shooting a 2-under 70 through 18 holes. She was followed closely by freshman Kylie Fuller, who shot a 1-over 73 in her opening round.
The second round was the weakest for the Cats, who finished the day with a 13-over par 301 – good for eighth place after the first two rounds. But NU finished strong, shooting a 4-over par 292 in the final round to bump the team up to its sixth place overall finish. It marked the team’s lowest 18-hole score of the year as a team.
Hong lead the team again in the third round, shooting another 70 (2-under-par). She was followed by freshman Alex Lederhausen with an even-par 72. The team ended the tournament with a strong 26-over par 890, their lowest tournament score of the year.
One of the shining moments for the Cats was Hong’s impressive fifth place finish. After shooting 2-under in the first round and 3-over in the second, Hong finished strong. She ended the tournament with a 1-under score of 215 – good for her first top-ten finish of the season and the second for the Cats this year.
Sophomore Innapha Tantanavivat, who had the second-lowest overall score for the Cats with 10-over par 226, was second on the team behind Hong. Just behind her was Lederhausen with an 11-over par 227, and sophomore Kelsey Lindenschmidt with a 12-over par 228 overall. Fuller fell off the pace, finishing a distant 26-over 242.
Overall scores aside, NU’s goal for the Mountain View Collegiate was to apply its short-game work throughout the winter, and the team saw the results last weekend.
The team shattered its previous tournament birdie record of 28, sinking 31 during the three-round tournament. That marked a vast improvement from the nine the Cats shot at the Rio Verde Collegiate Invitational in early March.
“The team was finishing the rounds strong, battling it out each round rather than losing intensity on the last few holes,” Fletcher said.
NU leaves on Saturday for the Suntrust Lady Gator tournament in Gainesville, Fla. For Fletcher, the team’s goal remains the same.
“We want to keep working on our short-game and carry our momentum from last weekend through this coming weekend,” Fletcher said.
