Oct. 19, 2008

Lady Northern Final Results

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 17th-ranked Purdue women's golf team finished their fall season with a second consecutive tournament victory after firing a three-round total of 895 (+31) at the 2008 Lady Northern Invitational. Senior Maria Hernandez took home medalist honors with a 54-hole total of 217 (+1).

Purdue began the final round of play Sunday with a commanding nine-stoke lead over second place Notre Dame and managed to extend the lead to 17-strokes after carding a team total of 302 (+14) in its final round. Michigan State moved into second, shooting a 912 (+48) followed by third place Notre Dame (913, +49).

Hernandez started the day in fourth but jumped to the top of the leader board after playing even-par golf all afternoon. Hernandez worked her way in and out of ties for the lead with Notre Dame's Annie Brophy and Michigan State's Lauren Kueny but was able to seal her first victory of the season with a birdie on her final hole. Hernandez opened the tournament with a three-over par 75, picked up a stroke in the second round with a 71 (-1) and finished Sunday with a 71 (-1) for a three-round total 217 (+1).

Four-stokes behind Hernandez and finishing in a tie for second with Michigan State's Lauren Kueny was sophomore Maude-Aimee Leblanc. LeBlanc was tied for third with teammate Junthima Gulyanamitta late in the final round but after Gulyanamitta double bogeyed No. 17 LeBlanc took the edge. LeBlanc finished her final round with a four-over par 76 to go with her first and second rounds of 71 (- 1) and 74 (+2).

Gulyanamitta began Sunday in first place after shooting a 73 (+1) in her opening round and team-best two-under par 70 in her second round, but couldn't over come early mistakes and continued to be haunted by bogeys throughout day on Sunday. She finished in a tie for fifth with Minnesota's Teresa Puga with a total of 224 (+8).

Senior Carolyn Mess turned in her best round of the tournament (74, +2) to jump 29 spots to finish in a tie for 18th. Mess ended the tournament with a total score of 233 (+17, 81, 78, 74).

Freshman Vaishavi Sinha finished in 58th place firing a 244 (+28). Sinha opened with an 82 (+10), shot an 81 (+9) in her second round and closed the Lady Northern with an 81 (+9).

Following first-place Purdue (+31, 895) are Michigan State (+48, 912), Notre Dame (+49, 913), Indiana (+60, 924), Michigan (+73, 937), Ohio State (+74, 938), Minnesota (+77, 941), Iowa (+78, 942), Iowa State (+79, 943), Wisconsin (+83, 947), Illinois (+94, 958), Penn State (+99, 963), Northwestern (+103, 967), Toledo (+103, 967).

The Boilermakers hosted the Lady Northern Invitational at the par-72, 6,276- yard Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind.

This was the Boilermakers second tournament victory and second individual medalist in the past two weeks. Gulyanamitta and the Boilermakers finished in first place at the 2008 Windy City Collegiate hosted by Northwestern in Skokie, Ill. on Oct. 7.

This tournament was the Boilermakers' last event for the fall season. Purdue will kick off the spring season on Feb. 8 to10 when it hosts the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

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