Four top-20 finishes, one top-10 finish and a fourth place overall finish outlines the success of the Wildcats at last weekend’s Lady Buckeye Invitational.
The Cats held second place going into the final round, with only host Ohio State ahead of them.
“They really played the best they’ve played all year, especially through the first two rounds,” coach Emily Fletcher said. “We were in second place going into the third round and to have all those teams who were ranked above us behind us, we were right where we wanted to be.”
However, similar to the turnout at the SunTrust Lady Gator, a tumultuous final round pushed the Cats back to a fourth place overall finish, behind Kent State and Washington.
“We played really well the first day in our first 36 holes,” senior Jennifer Hong said. “Unfortunately, on the last day, we didn’t play as well. The conditions weren’t great, it was windy and the weather was unpredictable. We lost momentum on the last nine holes, but I think we all agree that we could have come in second or third.”
Despite its inconsistency in the last round, NU posted a 51-over 915 (299-300-316), good for four strokes ahead of their conference rival Indiana and five strokes ahead of Michigan State.
“Michigan State is a really good team with great players,” Hong said. “They’ve always been our big rivals, and we also beat a lot of other teams that were ranked higher than us – it was definitely a step toward the right direction.”
Sophomore Rebecca Lederhausen led the team for the second week in a row. She was tied for third going into the second day, but an 8-over 80 in the final round dropped her six places. She finished with an 11-over 227 (73-74-80), good for a season-best ninth place overall finish.
“On the first day, I was able to keep my focus,” Lederhausen said. “I made some cuts when I needed to make par. I was really nervous on the second day. I held it together for the first few holes but just kind of lost it toward the end.”
Hong finished one stroke behind Lederhausen and tied for 11th place individually with a 12-over 228 (74-75-79).
Freshman Alexandra Lederhausen followed her sister, Rebecca, and Hong closely. She tied for 13th with a 13-over 229 (77-74-78). Sophomore Innapha Tantanavivat also finished in the top 20, with 16-over 232.
This weekend marks the end of the Cats’ regular season. The Big Ten Tournament begins next Friday in West Lafayette, Ind. – hosted by top-ranked Purdue. Fletcher said she’d like to see more of the same from her roster.
“Everyone has raised their level of their intensity, taking care of their individual weaknesses,” Fletcher said. “If we continue to go out there and take care of our own business, then we can expect great results this weekend.”
