GOLF, Ill. – The Vanderbilt women’s golf team continued to battle back from a disappointing start at the Windy City Collegiate Classic on Tuesday, finishing the tournament with a seventh-place finish.
Paced by a sub-par performance by junior Louise Yu, the Commodores moved ahead of Virginia and Oklahoma State in the team standings on the final day of competition. Vanderbilt finished the 54-hole tournament with a team total of 8-over-par 852, including even-par 288 during third-round play at Glen View Club northwest of Chicago.
Facing a 15-team field that included nine other nationally-ranked squads, the Commodores steadily moved up the leaderboard after being mired in a tie for 10th place after the first round. The Dores closed to within two strokes of sixth-place finisher Arizona on the back nine Tuesday, but could not overtake the Wildcats.
“I thought the girls played with a lot of heart today,” Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen said. “I think we actually played a lot better than our score showed. We had a lot of good birdie looks but didn’t get them to fall.”
Yu was the Commodores’ top performer in the final round. The junior from Duluth, Georgia amassed seven birdies in a final-round scorecard of 4-under-par 68. Yu finished the tournament with a tie for 19th place in the individual competition.
Sophomore Auston Kim from St. Augustine, Florida, was the low Commodore for the tournament, registering a top-10 result with a tie for sixth place. Kim posted an even-par 72 on Tuesday and finished with a 54-hole total of 3-under-par 213. It was Kim’s second top-10 result in three fall tournaments. She swept medalist honors at the season-opening Cougar Classic.
“It was good to see Lou (Louise Yu) play well, and this is a very solid finish for Auston in a strong field,” Allen said.
Senior Abbey Carlson, who recorded her second collegiate ace earlier in the tournament, earned a tie for 42nd place. She finished tied with teammate Morgan Baxendale with three-day totals of 6-over-par 222.
Freshman Jayna Choi was the team’s fifth participant. She finished 67th in the tournament with a 12-over-par total of 228.
Freshman Celina Sattelkau enjoyed her best tournament as a Commodore. The native of Germany tied for 35th individually with a 54-hole score of 4-over-par 220.
The Commodores will be away from competition for a month, returning at the Battle at the Beach, scheduled Nov. 1-3 in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico.
“We’ll take time to get some much needed rest, then start preparing to finish off the fall strong in Cabo,” Allen added.
Windy City Collegiate Classic
Glen View Club, Golf, Ill.
Par 72, 6,368 yards
Team Standings (final results)
7. Vanderbilt +8 872 (297-287-88)
Individual Results
T-6. Auston Kim -3 213 (73-68-72)
T-19. Louise Yu +6 217 (74-75-68)
T-35. Celina Sattelkau +4 220 (77-72-71) *
T-42. Morgan Baxendale +6 222 (75-71-76)
T-42. Abbey Carlson +6 222 (77-73-72)
67. Jayna Choi +12 228 (75-75-78)
*playing as individual
