ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The seventh-seeded Purdue women's golf team knocked off sixth-seeded Iowa in the opening round of consolation match play, 3-2, at the East & West Match Play Challenge, hosted by Michigan at the Radrick Farms Golf Course on Sunday. Senior Aurora Kan, sophomore August Kim and freshman Linn Andersson each won their individual bouts as the Boilermakers advance to face Miami tomorrow in the consolation finals.
Andersson put the Boilermakers' first point on the board, leading the majority of the day over Iowa's Amy Ihm at No. 5. The Purdue freshman took a one-shot lead on No. 16, and pushed her lead to two after heading back to the front nine on No. 2. Ihm pulled back within one on the third hole, but Andersson put the match away with a birdie on No. 4 and won the bout 2&1.
The Hawkeyes evened the team score at No. 4 as Elisa Suarez topped Marta Martin, 6&5, but the Boilermakers grabbed the lead back in the No. 3 spot as Kim rallied from behind Shelby Phillips with a one-up win. Kim took a one-shot lead on No. 13, but dropped the next three holes to fall behind by two as they made the turn. Kim chipped away at the lead, earning points on No. 1 and No. 3, and bested Phillips on the ninth and final hole to earn the win and the team point for the Boilermakers.
Purdue junior Anna Appert Lund went back-and-forth with Iowa's Jessica Ip, but fell in the end, one-down, to knot the team score at 2-2 going to the final pairing. The back nine saw points swing on seven holes and they went back to the front side with a one-shot lead for Ip. Appert Lund evened the score on No. 1, but Ip took the lead out to two shots with wins on No. 2 and No. 6, which led to the win. Appert Lund got one back on No. 8, but couldn't tie up the score.
Kan had to mount a big comeback to seal the victory for the Boilermakers, trailing by three after six holes, but rebounding for a 3&1 victory over Jessie Singlinger. The rally started on No. 17 for the Boilermaker senior as she won three of the next four holes to even the score and then bested Singlinger on three straight holes at No. 6, 7 and 8 to seal the individual and team victories.
The Boilermakers will face the Hurricanes in the consolation finals tomorrow as Miami topped tournament-host Michigan in the other consolation contest, 4-1, on Sunday. SMU and UC Davis advanced to the championship match on the other side of the bracket as the Mustangs downed Ohio State, 3-2, and the Aggies topped Wisconsin, 3-2.