The Arizona women’s golf team finished in second place this week at the Wildcat Invitational with a score of 856 (-8) at the Sewailo Golf Course.
No. 1 ranked UCLA won the event with a score of 847 (-17). Lilia Vu of UCLA won the individual competition shooting 203 (-14), with Wildcat junior Gigi Stoll finishing in 3rd place at 7-under par. Vu has now won four consecutive tournaments, and eight overall this season.
“I’m really proud of the ladies and the way they fought today. They gave a lot of heart out there,” UA head coach Laura Ianello in a press release by Arizona Athletics. “UCLA was really difficult to catch up to, they had some players that played fantastic.”
For the Wildcats, Stoll’s 209 strokes were the lowest of her career, and the third-place finish was also a career best. She shot a 9-under par on par 5’s this week, leading the field.
Freshman Yu-Sang Hou finished in fifth place in what was only her second career collegiate event, shooting 211 (-5). She helped this number by shooting a bogey-free 68 in the final round.
Coach Ianello spoke highly of the two after the tournament, noticing their games rounding into form.
“Yu-Sang Hou and Gigi Stoll’s performances were probably the best we’ve seen out of our Wildcats in a long time. I think we are seeing them perform at a higher level which is fantastic, especially for Yu-Sang as a freshman and Gigi as a junior, who is a leader on our team,” Ianello said to Arizona Athletics.
Junior Bianca Pagdanganan and junior Haley Moore each finished the tournament tied for 14th at 2-over par. Pagdanganan shot a final round score of 74 (+2) while Moore shot a 1-over par round of 73. Moore’s has now finished in the top-20 fifteen times as a Wildcat. Freshman Cecilie Bofill finished tied for 59th after she finished the tournament at 15-over par. She shot a final round score of 74 (+2) that includes four birdies in the round.
“We leave in a week for our next tournament in Puerto Vallarta,” Ianello said. “I feel really optimistic about that event, if we continue to play the way we did this week we should hopefully be able to go in there and win.”
The Cats return to action at the El Tigre Invitational in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at El Tigre Golf Club on March 16-18.
Follow Daily Wildcat Sports on Twitter