The UA women’s golf team finished in a three-way tie for first place at the Windy City Classic on Tuesday. They finished with a team stroke total of 852 (-12) to tie them with Northwestern University and the University of Georgia. 

The Windy City Classic took place on Monday and Tuesday with 36 holes scheduled for the first round on Monday. The tournament was played at the Westmoreland Country Club in Evanston, Illinois, and was hosted by Northwestern. 

After the first 36 holes on Monday the team was tied for fifth place with a 36-hole total of 571 (-5). Georgia led after the first day at 14-under par. 

Junior Jessica Vasilic had a very strong start for the Wildcats and was a major reason the Wildcats found themselves in the top five on the leaderboard after day one. 

Vasilic shot 70 (-2) on the first 18 holes and followed that with a 69 (-3) that included four straight birdies on the back nine. Vasilic was tied for 3rd overall at 5-under par after Monday. 

Junior Wanassa Zhou shot a combined score of 143 (-1) for the first round and was tied for 18th. Freshman Gigi Stoll struggled slightly on the first day with a combined score of 151 (+7) tying her for 64th place. 

Sophomore Krystal Quihuis finished with a 145 (+1), as did senior Lindsey Weaver tying them for 31st place. Weaver struggled on the first eighteen shooting 76 (+4) but rebounded with a strong 69 (-3) on the second eighteen. 

The Wildcats moved all the way up the leaderboard to a tie for first on Tuesday afternoon. The team caught fire and shot a team score of 281 (-7), the top score on the day by seven strokes. 

Vasilic continued her impressive tournament with an exciting final round 70 (-2) that included six birdies. Vasilic finished in a tie for 2nd on the weekend. 

Zhou shot an impressive 69 (-4) in the final round to tie for 6th place on the tournament. Weaver tied for 25th place finishing even overall for the tournament, while Quihuis tied for 34th place overall finishing at 2-over par.

Meanwhile, Stoll made a big jump on the leaderboard Tuesday to finish in a tie for 49th with a 71 (-1) in the final round. 

“They got off to a very slow start today but hung tough and were able to capitalize on the back nine,” head coach Laura Ianello said in a statement. “It was a good tournament with a great field. We were bummed to not take the title soley but, we will take a win.”

The Wildcats look to build on their strong start when they head to the Stanford Collegiate Classic in Palo Alto, California, on October 18-19.