May 27, 2000
The Purdue women's golf team concluded its 1999-2000 season at the NCAA Championships today by firing a 307 on the final day of competition to close out the collegiate championships in ninth place. The Boilers matched their score from yesterday's third round score to move up one spot from tenth-place. The Boilermakers close out the championships with a 1215, good enough for the top Big Ten finish. Other Big Ten conference schools participating in the NCAA finals, hosted by Oregon State, where Ohio State (20th) and Northwestern (24).
Arizona won its second ever NCAA Championship with a 1,175 (+23) with Stanford (1,196, +44), Texas (1,198, +46), and Southern California (1,199, +47) rounding out the top four. The Wildcats started the say an impressive +1, but fired a 310 on the afternoon to finish +23. Stanford threatened, shooting the lowest score of the day for the tourney with a 303, but could not manage to crack the Wildcats 21-stroke lead heading into the final round.
Winning the individual championship was Jenna Daniels of Arizona, who shot a 77 on the final day of competition. Despite hitting in the upper 70's today, Daniels had an impressive 287 (-1) finish for the only athlete in the field to be under par. Daniels finished with a 73-69-68-77 (287) to help the 'Cats to a championship.
Freshman Kari Damron was outstanding yet again, as the first-year Boilermaker from Conway, S.C., fired a 75 on the day to tie her first round mark. Damron finished the championships tied for 34th place with an impressive 303 on the windy par-72. Following Damron was Stacy Orschell who overcame a 78 in round two to tie her younger teammate with a 75. Orschell fired a 74 in the first round, helping the Boilers jump out to a fourth-place standing after Day One and rounded things out with a 75 for a 304 (+16). Andrea Makauskas followed the Purdue-senior with a 306 for the championship, ending this afternoon with a 77. Makauskas came on strong in the second round with a 73 to lead Purdue in that round. Makauskas ended the competiton tied for 54th. Christy Rittenhouse and Heather Zielinski followed in the No. 4 and No. 5 spots for Purdue, shooting an 80 and an 82, respectively, on the afternoon. Rittenhouse ended the competition with a 309, while Zielinski wound up with a 312. The brightest moment for Zielinski was in round one, when she jumped out to the Boilermaker lead with a 73 (+1) for the seventh-best score after Day One.
The play will be televised on ESPN2, but it will be tape delayed airing on Sunday from 7:00-9:00 AM (PT) so fans watching from West Lafayette, Ind., can watch it at 10:00 AM-12:00 PM (ET).