Feb. 14, 2012
RIO GRANDE, P.R. - Purdue finished in sixth place at the 10th annual Lady Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, P.R. Purdue moved into sixth after the second round with a tournament-low 286, but could not gain further ground on the final day. The Boilermakers shot a 305 on Tuesday for a three-round total of 901 (310-286-305).
Purdue's Laura Gonzalez-Escallon had the lead or a share of the lead for much of the final round, but when the day's scores were tallied she was tied for second with Georgia's Emilie Burger and Arkansas' Emily Tubert, each a one-under par 215. The 2011 National Player of the Year, Marta Silva Zamora (74-66-73=213, -3) of Georgia, earned medalist honors.
No. 6 LSU won the team title by firing a 298, finishing with a total score of 884 (294-292-298, +20). No. 11 Georgia led after two rounds but finished second (294-291-301=886). No. 8 Oklahoma State (300-290-300=890, +26) was the third-place team.
On Monday, Gonzalez-Escallon tied a 17-year-old school record and tied the Lady Puerto Rico tournament record by carding a 65. The La Hulpe, Belgium, native went 75-65-75=215 for the 54-hole tournament.
Junior Kishi Sinha was Purdue's second-highest finisher, playing consistently throughout the event. She opened with a 75 and then shot 74s the next two rounds to tie for 12th with a 223. Junior Paula Reto tied for 17th with a score of 224. The Cape Town, South Africa, native's best round was a 71 on day two, shot a 76 in the final round after opening with a 77.
Freshman Aurora Kan tied for 59th with a 239 (83-76-80). Freshman Kendall Dusenberry, who enrolled at Purdue in January after graduating early from high school, shot an 83 on the last day, finishing with a 259 (91-85-83) for a tie for 83rd.
Freshman Vicky Scherer competed as an individual and tied for 65th with a total of 241 (81-80-80).
The tournament, which Purdue hosted, was held at the River Course of the Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa which was set up as a par-72, 6,191-yard venue.
The Boilermakers have nearly a month before their next competition at the LSU Tiger Golf Classic to be held March 9 to 11 in Baton Rouge, La.