Michigan
Windy City Collegiate Classic
Ghelfi's Career Outing Leads Wolverines to 12th at Windy City Classic
10/2/2018 5:07:00 PM | Women's Golf
» With a 299 final round tally, Michigan finished 12th with a 908 total at Northwestern's Windy City Classic played at the Westmoreland Country Club.
» Hannah Ghelfi led the Wolverines for the first time in her career as she set new career bests for individual finish (T24th), single-round score (72, E in first round) and 54-hole total (222 -- best by seven shots).
» With U-M's lowest final-round tally of 73 (+1), Ashley Kim tied for 39th at 226.
» The Windy City Classic has a loaded field with no team ranked below No. 75 in the nation and 13 among the top 55, with four top-10 teams.
Site: Wilmette, Ill.
Tournament: Windy City Classic
Course: Westmoreland Country Club (Par 72, 6,360 yards)
U-M Team Standing: 12th Place of 14 Teams (302-307-299/908)
Top U-M Individual: Hannah Ghelfi, tie-24th (72-76-74/222)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sun., Oct. 12-14 -- Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
WILMETTE, Ill. -- Paced by a career-best weekend from junior Hannah Ghelfi, the University of Michigan women's golf team battled against some of the nation's top programs and used a 908 54-hole total to finish 12th at Northwestern's Windy City Classic played at the Westmoreland Country Club.
"This was a big opportunity for our team to play in such a great field on a great golf course," said U-M head coach Jan Dowling. "To measure ourselves and see where our strengths lie so early in the season is huge. We would have loved to be on all cylinders this week, but didn't bring our best team effort. However, I think the team knows they can hang and being sharper with some basics will get our scoring down."
With a field in which nearly all 14 teams ranked in the top 50, the Wolverines were able to use a Ghelfi career-best 72 (E) to post a 302 first-round tally to position themselves 10th in the first of two rounds on Monday. Using freshman Ashley Lau's 75 (+3) and a 76 from Ghelfi, the Maize and Blue dropped two spots to 12th after day one as U-M closed the second round with a 307 total.
Returning to Westmoreland, sophomore Ashley Kim posted a U-M low 73 (+1) in the final round. Combined with a Ghelfi 74 and three 76s from the remaining three starters, U-M cracked the 300 barrier with a 299. With that final tally, U-M closed with a 908 tournament total and stayed 12th in the first true stroke-play event of the season.
The story for the Wolverines was the career weekend of Ghelfi. Starting with her opening career-low round of 72, she finally topped her prior best of 73, which she posted three times last season. With that round, she lowered her previous career-best 54-hole total by seven strokes as she carded a 222 tally -- good for a career-best tie for 24th individually. He prior lowest individual finish was a tied for 42nd at the Moon Golf Invitational (Feb. 19-20).
"My putting was pretty solid all week," said Ghelfi. "I had a lot of really good up-and-downs. I think I gained confidence from that and I am feeling good about the rest of the fall. The team works really hard and I'm excited to see what we can do."
"Hannah played great and we are all so happy for her," added Dowling. "She scored great on a very difficult course. She's a great competitor and works so hard, so we are thrilled for her finish in such a good field."
Kim's tie for 39th at 226 (76-77-73) and Lau's tie for 45th at 227 (76-76-76) helped the Wolverines put three starters among the top 50.
The Maize and Blue's early-season trek continues with another challenge at North Carolina's Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational, Friday through Sunday (Oct. 12-14) at the Finley Golf Course in Chapel Hill. With an 18-team field traditionally filled with some of the top ACC, SEC and Big Ten teams, the Wolverines will make their third straight appearance after back-to-back 12th place finishes the last two years.
Final Team Standings
1. Southern California 286-290-288 = 864 (E) 2. Arizona State 294-283-292 = 869 3. Arizona 289-286-296 = 871 4. Florida 293-292-287 = 872 Northwestern 294-294-284 = 872 6. Duke 284-301-293 = 878 7. Purdue 303-296-292 = 891 8. Ohio State 303-286-303 = 892 9. South Carolina 294-305-297 = 896 Colorado 301-302-293 = 896 11. Iowa State 300-302-298 = 900 12. MICHIGAN 302-307-299 = 908 13. San Diego State 307-302-301 = 910 14. Oklahoma State 321-303-311 = 935
Top Individuals
1. Gabriela Ruffels, USC 69-66-71 = 206 (-10) 2. Raquel Olmos, Arizona State 70-66-71 = 207 3. Jaclyn Lee, Ohio State 72-66-75 = 213 Robyn Choi, Colorado 72-69-72 = 213 Sandra Nordaas, Arizona 71-72-70 = 213 6. Marta Perez SanMartin, Florida 71-72-71 = 214 7. Kelly Sim, Northwestern 73-72-70 = 215 Jaravee Boonchant, Duke 68-72-75 = 215 Brooke Riley, Northwestern 74-70-71 = 215 Olivia Mehaffey, Arizona State 77-66-72 = 215
Michigan Individuals
T24. Hannah Ghelfi 72-76-74 = 222 T39. Ashley Kim 76-77-73 = 226 T45. Ashley Lau 76-75-76 = 227 T58. Elodie Van Dievoet 78-79-77 = 234 T67. Sophia Trombetta 81-82-76 = 239
