April 27, 2008
Big Ten Championships Final Results 
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The sixth-ranked Purdue women's golf team won its third Big Ten Championship in dominating fashion, finishing with a 21 stroke advantage over second place Michigan State at the Blue Course at Penn State. The Boilermakers recorded a team total of 297 on Sunday for a four-round total of 1169, the second-lowest 72-hole team score in conference history behind only Purdue's own team total of 1167, which the Boilermakers recorded in their first conference championship in 2000. Purdue also won the team title in 2006.
Purdue held the top four individual spots heading into the final round. The Boilermakers were not able to hang on to that distinction, but did have four golfers finish in the top 10, including Maria Hernandez winning Purdue's first individual Big Ten title and Christel Boeljon's runner-up finish.
Hernandez followed up her 66 on Saturday with a 69 in the final round to finish with a 281, ten strokes ahead of teammate Boeljon. Hernandez finished seven strokes under par and was the only golfer in the tournament to finish with a below par score. Her 281 set a Big Ten record for lowest individual 72-hole score, surpassing the mark of 284 set just last year by Rachel Meikle of Michigan State. Hernandez also recorded the lowest 54-hole score with a 212 through three rounds and her 66 was the lowest third round score in Big Ten Championships history.
Boeljon fired a 73 on Sunday to record a three-over par 291 and secure second place. It is the second consecutive year that Boeljon has earned runner-up honors at the Big Ten Championships.
Freshman Maude-Aimee Leblanc finished tied for fourth with a nine-over par 297. The 6-foot-1 native of Sherbrooke, Quebec carded a 77 in the final round after posting scores of 74, 73 and 73 in the previous three rounds. Fellow freshman Junthima Gulyanamitta recorded a 79 on Sunday to finish tied for 10th. Her four-round total was 301 (76-74-72-79).
Junior Stephanie Oukeo contributed Purdue's fourth counting score on Sunday with a 78. She finished tied for 35th with a four-round total of 311. Also competing for the Boilermakers but not scoring was junior Carolyn Mess who finished tied for 49th with a 321 total score. Mess carded an 84 on the final day after firing 79 in each of the previous three rounds.
Michigan State finished in second place with a team total of 1190 while Ohio State was third with 1202. Indiana was fourth with a 1214 and Michigan was fifth with a score of 1217. Penn State, the host team, finished 10th with a 1236 team total.
The Boilermakers have secured the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals and await the announcement on Monday night of their regional assignment. The East Regional will be held at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga., the West Regional is at Lincoln Hills Golf Club in Sacramento, Calif., and the Central Regional will be held at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas.