The ASU men's and women's golf teams wrapped up their fall schedules Sunday at the Hooters Collegiate Match Play Championship at the Mission Inn Golf and Tennis Resort outside Orlando, Fla.
The Sun Devil teams went their separate ways after advancing to the second round of the bracketed tournament, as the women went on to challenge Purdue for the title, while the men fell to Georgia Tech and Coastal Carolina University to finish 10th.
"This is one of the best team-building experiences," ASU women's coach Melissa Luellen said. "The girls are so supportive of each other and closer now than they were coming into this week."
The fourth-seeded Sun Devil women made quick work of Missouri Friday, and after the competition was halted due to darkness, they defeated both fifth-seeded USC and No. 1-seeded UCLA to make it to Sunday's championship match.
ASU fell to second-seeded Purdue 3-1-1 to finish second in the tournament.
"Everybody played really well, and I'm proud of how far they got, but we just didn't make enough birdies down the stretch," Luellen said.
The sixth-seeded ASU men's team defeated New Mexico Friday, only to fall to third-seeded Georgia Tech in the second round. The Sun Devils then fell 4-1-0 to Coastal Carolina University in the consolation bracket.
"That's the thing about match play; you can play poorly and win, and at the same time you can play great and lose," ASU men's coach Randy Lein said. "We hoped to had gotten farther, but it was nice to be able to cheer on the girls team."
The tournament is the only time both teams play at the same location all season. Luellen said that playing side by side was something the teams enjoyed.
"They all had a great time together and were very supportive of each other," she said. "It was a different experience but a lot of fun."
Neither team will see action again until the spring semester is under way.
Luellen said while he was pleased with the fall season, there was room for improvement.
"Putting has been our weakness all fall, and we're getting better," she said. "If we can get those putters hot in the spring, who knows what we can do."
Reach the reporter at michael.fowler@asu.edu.
