The women's golf team finished the Mason Rudolph Invitational this weekend in fifth place as sophomore Erica Blasberg grabbed her first victory of the year.

The team finished 27-over-par (891) in Nashville this weekend, 17 shots behind champion Georgia on a windy morning yesterday.

Blasberg notched the third victory of her career as she finished at 3-under 213, but said the conditions on Sunday caused her to shoot a 74 ÷ her worst score of the tournament.

"It was really windy (yesterday)," Blasberg said. "My swing was a little off and the conditions made it hard to score. I played bad (on Sunday), but it was good enough."

The Corona, Calif., native had a chance to win the Mason Rudolph last year, but faltered with a 75 on the final day that put her in second place.

Last year's tournament was also the start of Blasberg's string of top 10 finishes ÷ something that made this win extra special.

"Last year I had a chance to win on the final day," she said. "It's pretty cool to come back here and get the win."

Sophomore Cassandra Kirkland was second among Wildcats with a 10-over-par 226 that landed her a 28th-place overall finish.

The rising star placed third two weeks ago in the Fall Preview with Blasberg and was ranked higher than her teammate coming into this week.

The team's fifth-place finish was its second consecutive top-five finish. Blasberg thinks the team has a lot of potential for the rest of the year.

"The team has so many possibilities," she said. "(We) are gaining confidence and, by going out and posting some decent scores, we will continue to improve and feel good about our chances."

Lani Elston continues to gain confidence after taking almost a year off from tournament golf.

The redshirt sophomore transfer from the University of Idaho finished in a tie for 44th, but is showing her teammates that she'll be a factor later in the season.

"Lani is awesome," Blasberg said. "She's not used to tournament golf and, once she gets some low scores, she's going to be good."

The Wildcats continue their long stretch Oct. 6-8 in Seattle as they tee up at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational.

The tournament will be held at Sahalee Country Club ÷ a course that hosted the 1998 PGA Championship and the 2002 NEC Invitational.