April 1, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue junior Laura Gonzalez-Escallon shot a 71 in the final round of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Ga., to finish alone in second place, just one shot behind medalist Jennifer Kirby (66-72-71-209) of Alabama. Gonzalez-Escallon shot under-par in all three rounds of the 54-hole tournament, totaling 210 (70-69-71, -6) and helping the 33rd-ranked Boilermakers to a sixth place finish in the prestigious event.
Purdue was in fourth place with one round remaining but fired a 296 on Sunday to finish sixth at the University of Georgia Golf Course with a three-day total of 878. No. 2 Alabama took first place, while host No. 12 Georgia finished second, No. 16 Florida was third, No. 28 Virginia finished fourth and No. 27 South Carolina was fifth.
The Boilermakers finished ahead of several ranked teams including No. 7 Auburn (seventh), No. 23 Michigan State (eighth), No. 25 Florida State (13th) and No. 26 Oklahoma (11th place).
Redshirt junior Kishi Sinha was Purdue's second-highest finisher, tying for 18th. The Noida, India, native carded a 73 in the final round to tie her personal best 54-hole tournament score of 218 (72-73-73, +2). Paula Reto had a tough finishing round with a 79 on Sunday. She tied for 33rd with a 223 (74-70-79).
Freshman Vicky Scherer shot a career-low 74 in the final round to finish tied for 59 with a total of 230 (79-77-74). Classmate Aurora Kan had Purdue's fourth counting score on Sunday with a 78. The Chichester, Pa., native tied for 78th with a three-round total of 235.
Gonzalez-Escallon's three-round total of 210 is her best 54-hole tournament total this season and just one above her career low of 209, which she set at the Battle of Rancho Bernardo last spring. The second place finish ties her best placement of the year.
The Boilermakers will compete in their final tournament before the 2012 Big Ten Championships on April 9 and 10 at the Knights and Pirates Invitational in Melbourne, Fla.