Oct. 14, 2001
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Purdue women's golf team came from three shots back to win the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championships on Sunday after firing a final round 305. The Boilermakers finished with a 902, beating out Auburn by five strokes and No. 1 ranked Duke by eight strokes. It's the first team title for the Boilermakers in the 2001-02 season.
The Boilermakers had two individuals in the top five. Purdue junior Kari Damron took home top individual honors after carding a 217 on the weekend. Damron's final-round 72 was the lowest total on the day. She finished one over par on the tournament.
Senior Caroline Laurens finished in fifth place after a final-round 74. She carded a 222 over the three-day event. Sophomore Beth Hermes finished tied for 23rd place after a three-day total of 230. Junior Heather Zielinski fired a 79 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 31st after totaling a 233. Senior Christy Rittenhouse tied for 73rd after a 259.
"It feels real good to get this win," said head coach Devin Brouse. "When you come to a tournament like this where the best teams in the country are and win it shows where you are as a program. I hope this inspires us to play better golf and keep moving on to bigger things."
Conditions were windy and rainy throughout most of the weekend.
"A 305 final round score is pretty high," said Brouse. "That just shows you that the conditions were tough out here and difficult to play well in and that our girls overcame the challenge of the weather."
The Boilermakers are in action again Oct. 26-28, in Greenville, S.C., for the Furman Intercollegiate hosted by Furman University.
Place Individual 1st Rd. 2nd Rd. 3rd Rd. Total 1st Kari Damron 71 74 72 217 +15th Caroline Laurens 72 76 74 222 +6T23rd Beth Hermes 75 75 80 230 +14T-31st Heather Zielinski 79 75 79 233 +17T-73rd Christy Rittenhouse 81 92 86 259 +43
Place Team 1st Rd. 2nd Rd. 3rd Rd. Total 1st Purdue 297 300 305 9022nd Auburn 299 298 310 907T-3rd Georgia 294 300 316 910T-3rd Duke 293 302 315 9105th Tennessee 303 300 314 917