As the players were crowding around the clubhouse after the final round of the Wildcat Invitational, one parent made a comment to an Arizona player about how nice the weather was.

That might be all the Arizona women’s golf team could brag about after ASU took its second title in a row at 12-under-par, six shots better then runner-up No. 1 Duke and 34 shots better than the Wildcats, who finished in eighth place.

The final round was up and down for most of the players, with a mixture of consistent play taunted by the occasional high number.

“”We need to be more consistent and get four solid scores posted,”” Arizona head coach Greg Allen said. “”The silly mistakes can certainly come around.””

Senior Cassandra Kirkland entered the final round in hopes of going low, but a 7-over-par 78, that included two triple-bogeys, tarnished her hopes of an individual title.

Kirkland’s defining moment for a frustrating final round came on the par-3 12th hole, when the French native stuck the 174-yard tee shot within approximately two feet of the hole, but pushed her putt right and settled for a disappointing par. She followed that with a triple-bogey on hole 13.

“”(Kirkland) has a tendency to rush things,”” Allen said. “”She just struggles with being patient on the golf course. She gets anxious, (and) she obviously had to wait her turn to putt and got up there and hit it too hard.””

The bright side of the tournament came from the freshmen on the squad, stepping up while upperclassmen like senior Whitney Welch struggled.

“”We had four freshmen shoot under par at some point in the tournament,”” Allen said. “”Those four freshmen are certainly the future of UA women’s golf, so we need to build on that and get our seniors to step up.””

Freshmen Lauren Espinosa and Amanda Wilson led the Wildcats individually, tying for 25th place, something Allen said the two weren’t happy about.

“”Lauren and Amanda both are disappointed,”” Allen said. “”They always want to keep getting better.””

While the Wildcats continue searching for the right lineup, the Sun Devils have found it with four of their five golfers finishing in the top 11 of the tournament.

“”They are certainly on a hot streak,”” Allen said. “”They are getting a great team effort.””

Arizona’s shot of the day came from freshman Brittany Pepler, who holed out for eagle on the par-4 seventh hole from 150 yards.

The Wildcats have a short break before heading south of the border to the Guadalajara Invitational in Mexico from March 6-8.

“”Our team will get one person to produce,”” Allen said. “”When we get all four out of five to produce we have a chance to compete.””