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
Final Team Leaders: 1- Southern California 294-287-295=876. 2- Northwestern 300-287=292=879. 3- Iowa State 297-298-293=888. 4. Arizona 300-294-297=89. 15- New Mexico 322-317-301=940.
Top Three Individuals: 1- Anne Park, USC, 73-69-69=211. 2- Lina Aguillon , Ohio State, 70-71-73=214. 3- Nattapan Siritrai, Iowa State, 72-72-71=215.
The Windy City Field: New Mexico,Arizona, Georgia, Iowa State, Kentucky, Miami, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Purdue, Tulane, USC, Wisconsin
WILMETTE, Ill. – It’s too early to call this a trend – and maybe it’s simply a sign of youth growing up – but Coach Jill Trujillo’s New Mexico Lobos once again are figuring out a few things about their game and a few things about the course on the final round.
In their last tournament (Golfweek Conference Challenge), the Lobos used the final 18 holes to cut 14 shots off their second-round card. They did even better Tuesday in the final round of the Windy City Collegiate going from 317 on their second round to 301 over their final 18 holes.
That’s an improvement of 16 shots created by all five Lobos — Ingrid Gutierrez, Katerina Jaeger, Alexandra Moisand, Eva Saulnier and Kalyn Thayer – improving on their scores from both the first 18 holes and the second 18 holes.
We played better golf today,” said Trujillo. “It was still very windy.”
Sophomore Katerina Jaeger had a dramatic jump as she shot an 82 on the first 18 holes and fired a 72 on the final 18 holes of the 54-hole event. That was the second best card Jaeger has turned in as a Lobo. There were only five players Tuesday who were able to crack the par-72 mark.
“Katerina’s short game was spot on,” said Trujillo. “She really had only two small mistakes that cost her – a three-putt bogey on No. 15 and a double-bogey on No. 5.” Jaeger used birdies on 6, 7, 11 and 14 to help her stay even with par.
To put Jaeger’s 72 into better perspective, consider that only two players out of the top six teams were able to top Jaeger’s 72.
Freshman Ingrid Gutierrez went from a first-round 80 to a final-round 75 and Alexandra Moisand went from an 81 to a 76. Kaylyn Thayer improved her first-round score by 12 shots. Eva Saulnier had the least dramatic jump as she went from a first-round 79 to a 78 on Tuesday.
The Southern California Trojans, the most dominate women’s golf team during the 2013-14 season, once again flexed their muscles as they defended their title in the Windy Cities with three-shot win over Northwestern, the host team. USC’s Annie Park was the only player among the top five teams to break 70 on Tuesday as she used a 69 to take individual honors with a three-day card of 73-69-69=211.
Ohio State’s Lina Aguillon took runner-up honors three shots behind Park.
The Lobos’ 301 on Tuesday was better than fifth-place Oklahoma State’s 304 and only one team in the final nine spots was able to beat that 301 team total. Still, it was a case of a good round coming too late. UNM finished 15th in the 15-team field with a card of 940. Kentucky took the No. 14 spot with a 54-card of 923.
The ups-and-downs of golf might have been displayed best on the card of Tulane’s Emily Penttila, who fired a women’s competitive course record 66 on Monday, but skied to an 80 on Tuesday. All four Lobos who formed UNM’s final-day card shot better than 80 on Tuesday.
Trujillo won’t waste any time getting her squad back onto the links. They will play in the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invite Oct. 11-12 in Austin, Texas.
Windy City Final Results — New Mexico Lobos
| 15th | New Mexico | 322 | 317 | 301 | 940 |
| T41 | Katerina Jaeger | 82 | 75 | 72 | 229 |
| T61 | Ingrid Gutierrez | 80 | 79 | 75 | 234 |
| T70 | Alexandra Moisand | 81 | 81 | 76 | 238 |
| T73 | Eva Saulnier | 79 | 82 | 78 | 239 |
| 80 | Kalyn Thayer | 96 | 90 | 84 | 270 |