No. 8
ASU golf (16-under 848) finished in second place in the Betsy Rawls
Longhorn Invitational while UCLA (22-under 842) won the tournament.
Freshman Monica Vaughn (5-under 211) and senior Daniela Ordonez (5-under 211) led the way for the Sun Devils, finishing tied for seventh place. Vaughn started off shooting one over par, but finished strong with back-to-back three under par rounds.
Vaughn said she was proud to be able to finish in the top 10.
“It was very exciting, for my first top-10 finish in college,” Vaughn said. “The team did very well, and it was a good atmosphere. I played very well, smart and consistent, and that helped me. Everyone was very supportive.”
Ordonez had a very consistent tournament as well, shooting below par on all three days.
ASU as a team had an impressive tournament, never scoring worse than five under par on any round.
Coach Melissa Luellen said she was very pleased with how the team performed.
“I am really proud of the players, especially because the weather conditions were pretty bad,” said Luellen. “They did not complain, and they kept grinding away. They all played well, and the course held up well for us. It was a difficult course, but the days off last week were helpful for us to be rested and feel fresh.”
Seniors Justine Lee (even-216) and Laura Blanco (even-216) finished tied for 16th place, and junior Noemi Jimenez (2-over 218) finished in 26th place.
The Sun Devils are looking forward to a much needed break before they head to Kona, Hawaii, to compete in the Pac-12 Preview on Nov. 4 and 5.
Luellen said this break will be beneficial to the players for practicing and general rest.
“We have been on the road a lot in the last few weeks, and the players have asked for days off, and I am happy to grant it,” said Luellen. “We will be preparing trajectory shots (for the Pac-12 Preview), but that will be hard to practice in Phoenix with no wind. The difference from us and UCLA (in the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational) was the wedge play. They had more opportunities for birdies."
Reach the reporter at afeyrer@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter at @coffeeblack910
