Women's golf team takes Arizona Invitational title

Yesterday's leader and national No. 1 Duke lost ground on Wednesday by carting a score of 297, pushing their tournament total to 869, five-over-par. Defending tournament champion Arizona State retained its third place standing by finishing the tournament with a score of 868, four-over-par.

UA freshman Cristina Baena led the way to victory with a three-day total of 212 and a final round result of 70, good enough for third place among the individual scorers.

Baena was pleased with her overall placing but attributed the team's success to its consistency.

"(The team) is really happy with our play. We have been practicing so much and we were all able to play so well," she said. "You need five good players to win a tournament, and we all finished (near par), which is not a very easy thing to do."

UA senior Krissie Register and junior Jenna Daniels tied for fifth place with a three-under-par 213. Both Register and Daniels were able to post impressive scores in the final round to climb four and six spots, respectively.

Register recognized the importance of the Wildcats' strong finish this week on their way to the tournament title.

"We improved for the last two days," Register said. "We were able to finish well and everyone played well on the back nine, which really helped out."

Arizona State's Grace Park finished first individually with a 206, 10-under-par and four strokes ahead of second place Stacy Prammanasudh of Tulsa.

UA's other tournament starters, juniors Jill Gomric and Shannon Ingalls, finished tied for 22nd place, five-over-par.

Baena predicts the team's strong, balanced attack is a sign of future success.

"(The scores) really show that we have a great team," Baena said. "To be a starter you have to prove it, and improve your score to play better, because there's always someone ready to take your spot. We have been practicing so much and we have a great future."

Jensen Karp can be reached at Jensen.Karp@wildcat.arizona.edu