April 24, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The fourth-ranked Purdue women's golf team was unable to pull off a four-peat at the 2011 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships, but senior Numa Gulyanamitta became the fourth-consecutive Boilermaker to win the individual title at the conference tournament.
The Big Ten Championships were hosted by Northwestern on April 22 to 24 at the Lake Shore Country Club, a 6,303-yard, par-72 venue in Glencoe, Ill.
Purdue shot a 292 on Sunday to finish in second place, five strokes behind No. 19 Michigan State with a final score of 1,185 (303-296-294-292, +33). The Spartans (306-290-295-289=1,180) led by two-strokes going into the final round and recorded a 287 to win their first conference title since 2007. Northwestern earned third place with an 1,187 (308-293-300-286, +35)
Gulyanamitta, the Boilermakers' highest ranked golfer at No. 17 took home her first conference medal by recording a four-round total of 287 (-1). She was the only golfer in the field to finish below par, besting second-place Lauren Weaver of Northwestern (71-77-69-73=290) by three strokes.
Gulyanamitta carded a team-low 71 for the third-straight round after opening with a 74 on Friday. The native of Thailand joins Maria Hernandez, Maude-Aimee LeBlanc and Laura Gonzalez-Escallon to continue Purdue's streak of individual conference titlests.
Gulyanamitta was honored with the Mary Fossum Award, given to the Big Ten player with the lowest stroke average to par this season. In the fifth year of the award, it went to a Boilermaker for the fifth time. Hernandez won it the first three years and LeBlanc earned it last season.
Sophomore Laura Gonzalez-Escallon finished the tournament with her best round, a one-under par 71. The La Hulpe, Belgium native earned a sixth-place finish with a 295 (74-75-75-71, +7) and was named along with Gulyanamitta to the All-Championships Team.
Purdue's Paula Reto led the field with 15 birdies over the four rounds and finished ninth with a score of 298 (80-73-72-73, +10). The sophomore from Cape Town, South Africa, carded a 73 on Sunday to earn a top-10 finish.
Thea Hoffmeister tied for 27th after recording a 77 in the final round. The senior from Berlin, Germany, carded a 308 (78-77-76-77, +20) for the four rounds. Classmate LeBlanc also recorded a 77 on Sunday and finished tied for 38th with a score of 311 (77-80-77-77, +23).
Kishi Sinha, a junior from Noida, India, did not compete due to an injury suffered prior to the event.
The Big Ten All-Championships Team was named at the conclusion of the tournament and included Gulyanamitta (Purdue), Lauren Weaver (Northwestern), Alex Lederhausen (Northwestern), Caroline Powers (MSU), Lindsey Solberg (MSU) and Gonzalez-Escallon (Purdue). The remainder of the conference awards including Golfer of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Coach of the Year and All-Big Ten teams will be announced on Tuesday.
The Spartans' earn the conference automatic bid for the NCAA Championships but the Boilermakers will not have to wait long to learn their fate. The NCAA Regional fields will be announced by the NCAA Championships selection committee on Monday, April 25 at 7 p.m. ET.