Purdue women's golf finishes 9th nationally; Gonzalez-Escallon ties for 3rd
Info courtesy of Purdue Sports Information
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The 29th-ranked Purdue women’s golf team earned its seventh-straight top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships in its 13th-consecutive appearance under head coach Devon Brouse. The Boilermakers shot a 299 on the final day, for a four-round total of 1182 which put them in ninth place.
No. 2 Alabama won the team title, shooting a 294 to hang on to a one-stroke lead with a score of 1171. It is the first national championship in women’s golf for the Crimson Tide. No. 3 Southern California was second, recording a 293 in the final round and a total of 1172. No. 5 LSU finished third behind a final-round 298 for a score of 1173.
Oklahoma’s Chirapat Jao-Javanil won the individual medal with a six-under par 282. The sophomore from Thailand carded a 70 in the final round to earn a four-stroke victory.
Purdue was playing in the final group for the third-consecutive year, but was unable to match the national championship earned in 2010 or the second place finish last season. Still, that level of consistency is rarely matched and Purdue did place two golfers in the top 15. Junior Laura Gonzalez-Escallon was the top finisher for the Boilermakers. She fired a 70 on Friday to tie for third place with a four-round total of 287 (67-76-74-70, -1). The Big Ten Player of the Year also earned third place in last year’s NCAA Championships.
“I just wanted to put pressure on the leaders, that was my goal and I think I did that pretty well,” Gonzalez-Escallon said. “I played okay. I putted better but I made a few mistakes on the last five or six holes. It was hot, but I had a lot of fun out there.”
Paula Reto also carded a 70 in the final round and tied for 14th with a 293 (73-73-77-70, +5).
Freshman Aurora Kan shot a career-low 69 in round three to help Purdue move into a tie for third at the end of the day Thursday. She was unable to recapture the magic, firing a 79 in the final round, just missing a top-50 finish with a tie for 51st at 299 (77-74-69-79).
Redshirt junior Kishi Sinha was playing in her second NCAA Championships. She competed as a freshman in 2009. Sinha tied for 77th after carding an 80 on Friday. Her four round total was a 304 (76-72-76-80).
Freshman Vicky Scherer finished 122nd with a score of 317. The Augsburg, Germany, native joined the Boilermakers in January and has steadily improved through the spring. Scherer had a tough final round with an 86, but had carded 79, 76 and 76 in the first three rounds.
The 2012 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships was held at the Vanderbilt Legends Golf Club in Franklin, Tenn. The par-72 venue played 6,264-yards for the tournament.
The Boilermakers have no seniors on this year’s roster and will look to build on their postseason success for next season.
