No. 22 Northwestern clawed its way up the leaderboard this past weekend, securing a second-place finish at the Stanford Intercollegiate tournament. The Wildcats were one of just two teams under par during the three-round event, tallying 48 birdies and three eagles.
In its final fall tournament, NU outshot 17 squads, including No. 1 Stanford, No. 5 Texas, No. 7 UCLA and No. 12 San Jose State at the Stanford Golf Course, which played as a 6,269-yard par 71.
With a team score of 2-under, the ‘Cats ended seven strokes off the pace of No. 11 Southern California.
“It’s a really great quality field and strength of field,” coach Emily Fletcher said. “So I’m always encouraged by that finish.”
Junior Lauryn Nguyen, who won the Windy City Collegiate Classic in early October, dominated the individual field. The third-year phenom drained a practice-round hole-in-one, and her game didn’t cool off once she took to the tournament’s tee.
Nguyen maintained a particularly successful run the first two rounds, leading the tournament with a score of 136. Fletcher said the junior’s second day score of 66 significantly contributed to NU’s lofty place on the leaderboard.
However, Nguyen’s steady streak began to flounder in the third round, when she logged four bogeys and one double, relying on her four birdies to card a 73. She ultimately finished fifth, recording a four-under, 209 over three rounds.
Fletcher said she encourages her players to remain present and grounded to minimize mistakes — a skill that Nguyen, the team’s “anchor,” has mastered, according to the coach.
“It’s not that her game has been perfect, but she’s been able to move on from her mistakes,” Fletcher said.
Other NU players shared similar successes on the course. Senior Jennifer Cai posted two one-under rounds for an 11th-place finish. Capping off her event two strokes behind Cai, freshman Ashley Yun earned the 22nd leaderboard slot with a third round low of 68.
This tournament, hosted by Stanford and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, held a particularly special meaning. The 19 teams participated in PlayforHer, an initiative to raise funds for breast cancer research. The campaign honors Nancy McDaniel, a coach at University of California, Berkeley, who is currently in her second bout of breast cancer.
The event raised over $280,000, which will be donated to McDaniel’s oncologist at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. According to Fletcher, Northwestern helped raise $25,000 alone.
“Our group felt that we were playing for a little bit more than just ourselves this week,” Fletcher said.
The Stanford Intercollegiate marked the end of the fall season for the ‘Cats. The team boasts a trio of top-three finishes, including events such as the Windy City and the Illini Women’s Invitational. After a three-month hiatus, NU’s first tournament of the spring season will begin on Feb. 4 at the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Florida.
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