Wake Forest women rack up another title at Lady Paladin Invite

Wake Forest stock continues to grow, week by week. The Demon Deacons won the Lady Paladin Invitational on Sunday, earning its second team title in three fall starts.

Wake Forest, which topped the latest WGCA Coaches Poll and is No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, was the only team to finish 54 holes under par at Furman University Golf Course in Greenville, S.C. Even as host Furman went on a final-round run, turning in a 4-under 284 effort, Wake Forest was already too far out front.

Furman, at 4 over, finished five shots behind Wake Forest, in first at 1 under.

Junior Siyun Liu led the Wake Forest effort with a 3-under total that left her tied for second. Freshmen Lauren Walsh and Rachel Kuehn once again contributed beyond their age bracket, logging a ninth and T-10 finish, respectively.

Kuehn won the individual title at the Annika Intercollegiate earlier this month as Wake Forest picked up its first season victory.

Furman’s charge came with considerable help from senior Natalie Srinivasan, who teed it up in last spring’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Srinavasan demonstrated her home-course knowledge in firing a closing 4-under 68 that included five birdies in her final nine holes. She made four of those consecutive from Nos. 10-13, which is what allowed Furman to charge at Wake Forest the way it did.

Behind the top two teams, North Florida made a strong showing with a 22-over total for a solo third finish. Old Dominion was fourth at 27 over followed by South Florida in fifth.