Women's golf team battles hard, falls short

The Wildcats finished the event, which was held at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes, Calif., yesterday in second place, five strokes behind Tulsa. UA shot a 9-over par 293 yesterday and 28-over par 880 for the three-day tournament.

The Wildcats outplayed fifth-ranked Tulsa on the final day, beating them by two strokes (293-295), but the seven stroke lead Tulsa built during the first two days was insurmountable.

Tulsa finished at 23-over par 875, which was 10 strokes better than top-ranked Arizona State, who shot 33-over par 885 for a third place finish. Fourth-ranked Stanford finished in fourth place, 17 strokes back of Tulsa at 40-over par 892.

In the individual competition, Tulsa's Filippa Helmersson came from behind to seize victory from teammate Niina Laitinen and Arizona junior Krissie Register, who tied for second place finishes. Helmersson's 1-under par 70 yesterday led her to the tournament victory at 1-under par 212.

Helmersson was the only player in the 89-person field to finish under par for the tournament.

Laitinen and Register struggled yesterday. Laitinen finished with a 4-over par 75 and Register shot a 5-over par 76, which left them both three strokes back at 2-over par 215.

Wildcat junior Marisa Baena played a fantastic round yesterday. Her 3-under par 68 tied the low round of the tournament, helping her move up eight spots into a tie for fourth place with Stephanie Keever of Stanford at 3-over par 216.

Baena's finish is even more remarkable due to the fact that this is her first tournament back since suffering a fall season-ending shoulder injury.

Arizona sophomore Jenna Daniels continued her strong play yesterday, finishing in a tie for seventh place in the individual competition. Daniels fired a 2-over par 73 to finish seven strokes back of the lead.

Arizona senior Heather Graff shot a final round 5-over par 76 to finish in a tie for 42nd place at 19-over par 232.