Now the fun starts.
For the ASU women’s golf team, moving onto the postseason is going to be a whole new experience and a nice relief. The No. 16 Sun Devils finished seventh in the PING/ASU Invitational in Tempe on Sunday, which was their eighth and final regular season tournament of a very busy spring.
Other teams have only played three or four tournaments this spring, but with ASU not competing in the fall because of a lack of players, the Sun Devils needed to compete in eight to qualify for the postseason.
That meant a hectic spring schedule for a team that welcomed six new players.
“Our team has played so much in the last two months it’s crazy,” ASU coach Melissa Luellen said. “It’s been really stressful and I am really impressed and proud of them.”
Junior Carlota Ciganda again topped the charts for ASU, finishing tied for sixth despite not being cleared to play until the day before the tournament. It was her first time playing since March 16.
After being away from golf for so long, Ciganda was excited to get any opportunity to help the team.
“It was really hard for me to stay home and not play,” Ciganda said. “I didn’t have any great expectations, I was just going out there and having fun.”
ASU freshman Justine Lee’s performance continued to climb as she had one of her best finishes of the year in a tie for 19th.
The Sun Devils haven’t had much time to play on the ASU Karsten Golf Course where they would normally practice because of all the travel this semester, yet Lee still said she felt at home in the tournament.
“I was actually relieved, and it felt more like home. I guess, because we were the host team,” Lee said.
The wind picked up on the final day, and coupled with the fact that ASU hasn’t played the course much more than the other teams, this mitigated its advantage. Regardless, every Sun Devil competitor tied or shot a higher score than on their previous round on the final day.
Freshmen Daniela Ordonez toughed it out while having what she said was a stomach ache during her final round and finishing tied for 66th, but she still thought it was a nice experience.
“Seeing all the people here supporting us, all the sponsors,” Ordonez said. “The course was in great shape. So I thought it was a great experience even though I had my struggles.”
The team reflected on the season with mixed emotions about their performance but seemed to be anxious at the chance to take their play to the next level.
“I am going to give my best at practicing and I am going to work as hard as I can because I know our team is capable of doing great things,” Ordonez said. “We just need a little bit more time.”
No. 3 UCLA won the competition that featured nine Pac-10 teams, all of who will return to Tempe two weeks from now when ASU will host the conference championship.
No. 7 California, No. 9 UA, No. 2 USC and Stanford were the other Pac-10 teams that finished ahead of the Sun Devils on Sunday.
Reach the reporter at jjmckelv@asu.edu
