Over spring break, the University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s golf team returned to action at the Chattanooga Classic, hosted by Chattanooga in Tennessee. The event boasted an incredibly strong field with the likes of No. 10 North Carolina, No. 13 Virginia, No. 22 Duke and No. 27 Florida, among others. Furthermore, six women’s college golfers within the top 100 in the nation participated.
The Badgers, coming off two consecutive team finishes within the top five — fourth at the Westbrook Invitational and fifth at the MountainView Collegiate — looked to keep piecing together these strong finishes. The lineup consisted of sophomore Kate Brody, junior Alexia Siehl — who got her first start since the Westbrook — and seniors Carly Carter, Chloe Chan and Vanessa Ho. All three of the seniors came into Chattanooga riding two consecutive top-25 finishes on the player leaderboard. Freshman Izzi Stricker also competed as an individual.
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After one round, the Badgers picked up right where they left off, finding themselves in stand-alone second place, shooting seven-over as a team. Impressively, especially given the conditions, Brody shot a two-under 70. Carter and Chan both shot two-over 74s. Siehl shot a 77, five over par. Ho had her score scratched as she went seven over par, shooting a 79. As an individual, Stricker shot an 81, nine over par. The Badgers, as a team, found themselves only one shot off the lead.
After the second round, the Badgers found themselves in front of the pack in stand-alone first place. Chan went one-under and Carter went even par, keeping pace with some of the best performances by any given player in the field. Ho also poured in a round of one-over, a 73. Siehl shot a 77, five over par. Brody, after the dazzling two-under opening round, had her score scratched as she went nine over, an 81. Stricker shot a 12-over, 84.
In the final round, the Badgers slowed down just a tad, finishing the tournament in a tie for third, still tying the tenth-best women’s golf team in the country, North Carolina.
Carter went one-over in the third round and Chan went two-over, which meant both Chan and Carter finished the event at three over par, tying for second place. This extended both of their consecutive top 25 finishes streak to three events in a row. Ho shot four-over, finishing the event 12 over par, in 30th, unfortunately ending her consecutive top-25 finishes streak.
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For the other golfers, Brody went seven-over in round three, finishing the event 14 over par and in 42nd. Siehl went eight-over in the last round, finishing the event 18 over par and in 57th. As an individual, Stricker went seven-over in the final round, finishing the event 28-over and in 78th.
The Badgers outplayed several of the country’s best women’s golf programs, with two Badgers in second place out of all players in the event. This could prove to be a staple for the rest of the season, as the Badgers have proved several times this season that they can compete with some of the nation’s best.
The Badgers will look to keep the strong momentum going, as Carter and Chan seek a fourth consecutive top-25 finish at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational, hosted by Ohio State on April 12-13. This invitational will be the final event of the Badgers’ regular season, after which is the Big Ten Championship for women’s golf, in Baltimore, Maryland.