Women’s golf finished last among 15 teams in the Windy City Collegiate Championship, coming up short on a field that featured seven nationally ranked teams.
Bruno shot a composite 985 over three rounds, putting her 103 strokes above par and 52 strokes behind the 14th-place team, University of North Carolina-Wilmington. The University of Southern California, reigning national champions, won the tournament at a one-over 853.
“We were a little out of our league,” said Head Coach Danielle Griffiths.
Stephanie Hsieh ’15 echoed her coach’s sentiment, saying it was “the most competitive tournament going on this week.” But she and Griffiths said they were grateful for the opportunity.
Receiving the invitation “means a lot,” Griffiths said, noting that Brown was the only Ivy League team asked to participate in the tournament, which was hosted by Northwestern University.
“It was really awesome that we were invited,” Hsieh said, adding that it was “cool to be able to compete” against some of the top teams in the country.
“We didn’t play that great,” Hsieh said, but “we learned a lot, and it definitely helped us prepare for the rest of our tournaments.”
“We hung in there and we didn’t give up … it was a very positive experience,” Griffiths said.
Hsieh was tied with Lauren Flynn ’16 as the team’s low scorer, shooting a 36-over 239, a step back from her top-ten finish at the year-opening Dartmouth Invitational tournament. Her scores by round were 81-77-81, while Flynn’s were 81-76-82. Juliette Garay ’16 was only three strokes back with a cumulative score of 242, and Cassandra Carothers ’15 rounded out the team score with a 265. Garay was only three strokes back with a cumulative score of 242, and Carothers rounded out the team score with a 265.
The Bears would normally have five competing golfers, but two of the team’s other members were unavailable to play. Julie Lym ’17 could not travel due to academic commitments, and Rosanna Lederhausen ’17, who placed in the top 20 in her first career tournament at the Dartmouth Invitational, could not play due to a concussion.
“After the fact, there’s nothing you can really do,” Lederhausen said. She said that she was most disappointed about “not being with the team.”
She said she is nearing full recovery and is anxious to get back on the links. “I’ve been practicing really hard all summer and fall … I’m just taking it one day at a time,” Lederhausen said.
“We made the best of a tough situation,” Griffiths said. The tournament was “what I expected with carrying only four players.”
She said she knew facing high quality competition somewhat overwheled the team. “They were nervous the first round,” Griffiths said, but the players were able to overcome their jitters — Hsieh, Flynn and Garay all posted their lowest scores in the second round.
Despite its struggles, the team had one major bright spot in this tournament — “I had my first hole-in-one ever at the tournament,” Hsieh said.
“The hole-in-one put it in perspective for us,” Griffiths said. “We’re there to play a game, to have fun and be positive.”
Bruno will bring these lessons back to its Ivy League rivals in its next tournament, the Oct. 13-14 Harvard Invitational.
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