Peoria, Ariz. – Behind solid contributions from all seven competitors, the Wisconsin women's golf team clawed its way to a seventh place finish at its sixth-annual Westbrook Spring Invitational held at the Westbrook Golf Club Vistas Course.
The Badgers (+13, 291-300-286=877) saved their best round for last to jump one spot up the leaderboard.
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"Today was a really good day for us," UW head coach
Todd Oehrlein said. "I'm always happy when we have five contributors across the board and that's what we had today."
Gabby Curtis and
Brooke Ferrell both finished 2-under par to tie for sixth place and lead the Badgers. Curtis (69-72-73=214) recorded her best 54-hole total of the season and was just one stroke away from her career best. The finish also marked the Altoona, Wisconsin, native's fourth top-10 finish of her career.
Reigning champion Ferrell (70-72-72=214) shot back-to-back even par-72's to match her best total of the season and collect her 12th top-10 finish.
Nat Zeng (71-75-74=220) finished the tournament at 4-over to match her career low and tie for 27th place. Just one stroke behind was
Michelle Cheung (74-73-74=221), who collected her best finish of the season with a tie for 31st.
Jessica Reinecke (77-80-69=226) eagled her first hole (No. 10) on her way to firing a 3-under 69 and matching her career low. The performance propelled her up the leaderboard to a tie for 50th place.
Tess Hackworthy (72-80-76=228), who competed as an individual, finished the final round at 4-over to jump up to a tie for 52nd.
Becky Klongland (76-81-71=228) rebounded from a tough second round by shooting a 1-under 71 on the final day to secure a tie for 54th place.
"Brooke and Gabby really had good tournaments and closed out by playing well today," Oehrlein said. "And I was really proud of how Jess and Becky bounced back in a big way with great scores."
At 3-under par, Kansas State (290-288-283=861) took home the team title while Ohio State and Kansas both finished at 1-over to tie for second. Illinois (+7) and Iowa (+9) then rounded out the top-five, while New Mexico State (+10) nabbed sixth place and the Badgers (+13) finished in seventh. Oregon State (+18), Notre Dame (+20), Washington State (+20), UC Davis (+22), Nebraska (+26) and Indiana (+34) completed the 13-team field.
Just four strokes separated the top five finishers. Nebraska's Audrey Judd (-7) earned the tournament title, followed by Kansas State's Connie Jaffrey (-6) in second. Isabella DiLisio (-5) of Notre Dame and Tristyn Nowlin of Illinois (-5) tied for third while Kansas' Ariadna Fonseca (-4) took fifth.
Up next, the Badgers travel to Gainesvile, Florida, to compete in the Suntrust Gator Invitational at the Mark Bostick Golf Course March 11-12.
"We were really consistent today throughout the lineup, one through seven, and that bodes well for the rest of the spring." Oehrlein said.
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