Northwestern completed their first spring invitational, finishing tied for ninth out of 15 teams in the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. The tournament marks the first of four regular season spring tournaments for the Wildcats this season.

The tournament served as a way for the Cats to prepare for the season and see how they measured up to competition, as 11 of the 15 teams competing were ranked in the top 50 according to Golfstat.com. NU heads into the spring with a No. 24 ranking.

The Cats had a variety of different experience levels in Puerto Rico, sending one senior, one junior, one sophomore and three freshmen to the tournament. Senior Lauren Weaver, junior Devon Brown, sophomore Hana Lee and freshmen Kaitlin Park, Suchaya Tangkamolprasert and Elizabeth Szokol played for the Cats.

After the first and second rounds of the tournament, the Cats were in sixth place. Park was in 12th.

Weaver, Brown, Lee and Park played for the Cats all four tournaments in the fall.

Park has been a huge asset for the Cats so far. In her first collegiate tournament she tied for 25th and in the Lady Puerto Rico tournament she placed fifth with a 54-hole score of 2-over 218. Her best round of the tournament was the last day, in which she posted a 1-under 71.

Her performance was a huge reason for NU’s success. The Cats finished with a score of 909 (+45), good for ninth place. NU tied SMU and was only one stroke behind Kentucky.

Lee finished in the top 25 for the Cats, shooting 11 over 227. Tangkamolprasert had the highest placing for the Cats at 40th.

Next up for the Cats is their Alumni Match on March 2 in Jupiter, Fla. and then they will compete in the Clover Cup in Mesa, Ariz. March 8-9.