A sixth-place finish for the ASU women's golf team at the Pac-12 championship tournament Wednesday kept ASU outside of coach Melissa Luellen's goal to place within the standing's top five spots.
"We really didn't play well today," Luellen said. "We're not pleased with our final round and don't like this feeling."
The Sun Devils (+26) ended the final round at Valencia Country Club in Valencia, Calif., behind No.1 USC (-11), No. 13 Washington (+13), No. 7 UCLA (+15), No. 5 UA (+18), and No.12 Stanford (+18).
However, good things came out of the sixth-place finish despite ASU missing its goal.
Junior Laura Blanco (-2) led ASU with an even par third round. Blanco's overall score put her in fifth place individually and helped her to a Pac-12 conference second-team award.
"Laura played very solid," Luellen said. "She made good decisions, hit a great long game and just missed a few shots. Had she made a few more putts and she would've been right at the top. It's always nice to see her play with such confidence."
Junior Daniela Ordonez (+5), another second-team award nominee, was the second-highest scoring Sun Devil. She tied for 16th with UA sophomore Manon Gidali.
Sophomore Noemi Jimenez (+13) was the third-highest scorer for ASU. She tied for 33rd with Washington sophomore Cyd Okino and UCLA freshman Louise Ridderstrom. Jimenez's performance capped off a stellar sophomore season with a conference first-team nomination.
Sophomore Emilie Alonso (+14) fell to a tie for 36th after starting the contest's second round in third place.
"(Emilie) fought like crazy," Luellen said. "She lost a ball after hitting a tree and made triple on last hole (Tuesday), and it carried over to today. Those are the unfair realities of golf."
Junior Justine Lee (+15) ended the event close behind Alonso in a tie for 39th.
First place went to USC junior Sophia Povov (-7), who was followed by USC freshman Annie Park (-5) in second. The duo led its squad to a finish atop the team leader board as well.
With the conference championship behind them, ASU women's golf is now looking toward the postseason beginning May 9.
First up will be a regional tournament in either Stanford, Calif., Norman, Okla., or Auburn, Ala. The Sun Devils are expecting to get receive their bid to one of them promptly.
"Now's the time to really step it up and use all of the experience the girls have," Luellen said.
The top eight teams at each NCAA regional tournament will automatically earn a bid to the national championship. In order for ASU to make a run at the trophy, the women will have to come together, Luellen said.
"They all know they need to step up and trust each other," Luellen said. "What's important is that they're happy and willing to give it what they've got. That's all you can ask for as a coach."
Live scoring of the NCAA regional tournaments is available at www.golfstat.com.
Reach the reporter at adrian.martinez.1@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @AthruZ_14
