TUCSON, Ariz.— The Arizona women's golf team stormed back Wednesday to finish tied for first at the Windy City Classic at Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette, Illinois. The Wildcats finished 12-under par to split the title with host Northwestern and Georgia.
The Cats finished with a combined score of 852 for the tournament. Arizona entered the final round nine strokes behind Georgia and seven behind Northwestern. But the Wildcats combined to shoot 7-under par in the final round and catch the Bulldogs and Wildcats. Arizona's team score of 281 Tuesday was the best score by seven shots.
"The ladies did great," Coach Laura Ianello said. "They got off to a very slow start today but hung tough and were able to capaitalitize on the back nine. It was a good tournament with a great field. We were bummed to not take the title soley but, we will take a win."
Junior Jessica Vasilic led the Cats in her first competition of the season, tying for second place. She shot 7-under par with a combined score of 209 for the tournament. She finished five strokes behind winner Bailey Tardy from Georgia. Vasillic shot 70-69-70 over the three days.
“I feel great about my performance because it feels good to be back on track," Vasilic said. I struggled a little bit last season so it felt great to come back and start the season of right like I knew I could.” "Jessica had a great finish and her game has really progressed the last few months," Ianello added. Her Cactus Tour victory proved that she worked hard this summer and was ready to compete again."
Junior Wanasa Zhou was not far behind. She tied for sixth place and ended 4-under par. Zhou shot a combined score of 212. Senior Lindsey Weaver finished tied for 25th place finishing even to par with a combined score of 216. Sophomore Krystal Quihuis placed tied for 34th place finishing 2-over par with a combined score of 218. Freshman Gigi Stoll finished tied for 49th place shooting 6-over par with a combined score of 22 for the tournament.
Arizona, ranked No. 3 in the Golfweek Collegiate Rankings entering the tournament, finished one shot ahead of Arizona State and four ahead of No. 1 ranked USC.
The women's golf team will head to Palo Alto, CA next to compete in the Stanford Collegiate Classic Monday and Tuesday Oct. 18-19.
For continued coverage of Arizona women's golf, follow the team on Twitter @UAWomensGolf, at Facebook.com/ArizonaWomensGolf or visit ArizonaWildcats.com.
