The final round was the Wildcats’ time to shine when they charged through the last round of the NCAA East Regional Championships on Saturday with various accomplishments.
Both sophomore Devon Brown and senior Alex Lederhausen scored eagles, while freshman Brittany Mai shot the lowest score for Northwestern in her postseason debut. However, the Cats’ 2012 season came to end with a 18th place finish. The top eight teams continued on to the NCAA Championships in Franklin, Tennessee. The Cats pushed into the end of the weekend without hesitation, shooting the final 18 with their lowest score of the tournament, a 15-over 303. The finish proved the Cats’ tendency to finish their rounds strong. The finality of the 2012 season will start to sink in soon, but the Cats’ many accomplishments can outshine the various shortfalls. Freshman Hana Lee had a successful premiere into the regionals circuit as she led the team during the second round of the competition. Lee shot six straight holes on par Friday and birdied the first and ninth holes. She ended the weekend in 87th place after a successful freshman season. Brown’s preparations for the weekend served beneficial, as her 41st place finish at her second year regionals performance was the best of the team. She finished the final hole of the course in only three shots for an eagle, finishing the day with her best performance of a stroke under both previous days. Lederhausen’s final performance of her college career ended on a positive note, with the only eagle of the entire weekend at hole No. 11. She finished the tournament in 83rd place after her best round Saturday. The Cats ended the weekend in 18th place out of 24 teams at the Penn State Blue Course. The appearance at the three-round regional in State College, Pa. is the third consecutive for the Cats. Last year’s close loss to advance to championships led the team to hope for a top eight finish this year. While each individual performed well at certain holes, the overall team score wasn’t enough to procure the necessary finish. The team finished with a score of 916, 52 strokes above par.
