South Carolina's winning squad (South Carolina Athletics photo)
Already this fall, a recurring theme has emerged in this college golf season: Beware of the freshman. Two of the most competitive women’s college events of the fall have featured a freshman leading the charge and winning the individual medal.
Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, a Gamecock newcomers, is the latest example. The Frenchwoman went 11 under at Glen View Club near Chicago and claimed the Windy City Collegiate trophy by three shots. She led her South Carolina team to a three-shot victory as well. The Gamecocks, at 14 under, edged preseason favorite USC, also the defending champions this week.
For South Carolina, this is the first team title since last spring’s Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, a match-play event. After a loss in the final match of the SEC Championship, also a match-play event, the Gamecocks barely came up short of a national championship berth.
Roussin-Bouchard already looks to be a game-changer. The freshman won the International Ladies Amateur last spring, and is savvy and experienced international player. In Chicago, teammates Ana Pelaez and Emily Price reached 1 under for the 54-hole event and tied for 11th.
"They were awesome," head coach Kalen Anderson said of her team. "Lot of patience out there. The 36-hole day yesterday was tough on them but they were extremely patient and resilient all week. Pauline's performance was awesome. Obviously for her to win as a freshman was excellent, but it takes a whole group to win it all and beat a lot of good teams. Ana's 3-under was so key, and to have Lois back in the lineup and shooting 2-under today was huge. It was a total team effort and they played great today. They just hung in there until the end. I'm really proud of this group, they took care of some things we needed to and took care of business."
USC’s leadership came in the form of T-3 finishes from Jennifer Chang and Allisen Corpuz. The Trojans couldn’t quite keep pace with South Carolina, and after a 3-under 285 that was two shots short of the Gamecock effort, USC finished 11 under and three shots back.
Second-round leader Florida was 4 over on Tuesday and finished third, followed by Arizona State in fifth and defending national champion Duke in fifth.
Quotes from South Carolina Athletics
ABOUT THE Windy City Collegiate
54-hole women's college event hosted by
Northwestern University. Team (best four scores out of
five players each round) and individual competitions.
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