New Mexico Lobos Women’s Golf – At the Windy City Collegiate Classic
Where: Westmoreland Country Club – Wilmette, Ill. (NW of Chicago) – 6,291 yards, par-72
Team Leaders (36 holes): 1- Southern California 294-287=581. 2- Northwestern 300-287=587. 3- Oklahoma State 300-289=589. 4- Tulane 298-294=592. 15- New Mexico 322-317=639.
Individual Leaders: 1- Emily Penttila, Tulane, 71-66=137. 2- Daniela Darquea, Miami, 69-71=140. 3- Lina Aguillon , Ohio State, 70-71=141. 4- Annie Park, USC, 73-69=142.
The Windy City Field: New Mexico,Arizona, Georgia, Iowa State, Kentucky, Miami, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Purdue, Tulane, USC, Wisconsin
The Lobos: Ingrid Gutierrez, Katerina Jaeger, Alexandra Moisand, Eva Saulnier, Kalyn Thayer
WILMETTE, Ill. – Jill Trujillo’s New Mexico have only one way to go after 36 holes of the Windy City Collegiate Classic being held at the Westmoreland Country Club.
The young Lobos, still playing without their No. 1 golfer, struggled with scores of 322 and 317 over the first two rounds and are in last place in the 15-team field. New Mexico is at 639 – 58 shots behind the pace set by the Southern California Trojans.
Trujillo, who fields one of the younger teams in the nation with no seniors and no juniors, says her Lobos need to look at their results as a learning experience.
“Sometimes you get your nose bloodied,” she said. “It’s part of learning and growing as a player. It was windy in the Windy City (Chicago) today. The conditions were tough.”
USC, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation last season, carded a 294-287= 581 and hold a six-shot lead over host Northwestern.
The individual lead after 36 holes goes to Emily Penttila of Tulane, who used a women’s competitive course record of 66 during the second round to claim a three-shot lead over Miami’s Daniela Darquea. Penttila has a 36-hole total of 71-66=137 while Darquea went 69-71=140. Ohio State’s Lina Aguillon is at 141 and USC’s Annie Park is at 142.
The Trojans, who won nine tournaments in 2013-14, had three golfers in the Top Ten to help them power into the lead heading into Tuesday’s final 18 holes.
The Lobos were paced by sophomore Katerina Jaeger at 82-75=157. Freshman Ingrid Gutierrez was next with a two-round card of 80-79=159.
The Lobos obviously can’t challenge for the lead with only 18 holes to play, so the Lobos have to set their sights on moving up the board and catching Kentucky which has a 15 shot lead over New Mexico.
The Northwestern Wildcats have a slight home-turf advantage as the host team. The Wildcats were ranked No. 5 in the Oct. 3 Golfweek rankings. Northwestern also is coming off back-to-back 15th-place finishes in the NCAA championships
The Wildcats from Arizona brought the highest Golfweek ranking into the event at No. 3, but the Wildcats from Tucson are in sixth place 13 shots behind USC’s pace. Oklahoma State is in good position in third place only eight shots behind the Trojans.
The Trojans are the defending champions at the Windy City Classic.
The Lobos are without their No. 1 player as Manon Molle is still out with a fracture in her foot.
The tournament should crown a new individual champion on Tuesday as the defending champion Lindsey Weaver of Arizona is in 25th place, 12 shots off the pace and behind 24 other golfers. .
Westmoreland Country Club: Founded in 1911, this course has played host to the Western Open, the Western Amateur and both the Chicago District Golf Association’s Women’s Championship and USGA Women’s Amateur Championship. The original 1912 course design by William Watson has undergone several renovations, most recently by Arthur Hills in 1993.