Wisconsin concluded its first event of the spring Tuesday, finishing in last place at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic at the Coco Beach Golf Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
The Badgers could not overcome a poor start after shooting a first-round score of 329 Sunday. Wisconsin improved considerably Monday and Tuesday, shooting 309 and 310, respectively. But the better scores were not enough to prevent the Badgers from finishing in the basement of the 16-team field.
Wisconsin's overall score of 948 strokes was 84-above par, 60 strokes behind the tournament winner, Purdue.
Sophomore Carly Werwie led the Badgers by finishing in a tie for 26th place out of 86 total competitors. She finished the event with a score of 231, 15 strokes over par. Werwie's three-round score set her best mark of the season.
Finishing second for Wisconsin was senior Isabel Alvarez, whose score of 24 above par put in her in a tie for 60th place in the event. Alvarez finished strong for the Badgers by accumulating the best score for Wisconsin on day three of the Classic.
Not far behind Alvarez for the Badgers was senior Jeana Dahl, who completed the event two strokes behind Alvarez, good for a 69th-place tie overall.
Freshman Jessica Gerry and junior Kelsey Verbeten finished fourth and fifth for Wisconsin, respectively, as the other two Badgers in the tournament. Gerry's 27 above par placed her in a tie for 74th, and Verbeten's 30 above put her in a tie for 79th.
The Boilermakers (No. 17 in the Golfweek/Sagarin women's ratings) won the competition by a wide margin, finishing 21 strokes ahead of second-place Tennessee (No. 48), which shot a score of 909 for 45 above par.
Finishing one stroke behind the Volunteers and in a tie for third place were No. 9 Georgia and No. 38 North Carolina State. Texas Christian University, ranked No. 37, rounded out the top five with a score of 52 above par.
Purdue senior Maria Hernandez and Indiana junior Laura Nochta took a share of the individual title, shooting a score of 219 over the three rounds.
Tennessee freshman Nathalie Mansson finished one stroke behind Hernandez and Nochta, finishing in third place individually.
Six Big Ten schools competed in the 16-team field. Besides Wisconsin, Purdue and Indiana, Northwestern, Minnesota and Michigan competed. Northwestern finished ninth in the contest, Minnesota finished 10th, Michigan finished tied for 11th and Indiana finished the event in 14th place.
The 54-hole tournament was the Badgers' first since October, when Wisconsin played in the Edwin-Watts Palmetto Intercollegiate in Charleston, S.C.
Prior to the Classic, the Badgers had competed in only one event after the turn of the year, which was the Westbrook Cup in Peoria, Ariz. Wisconsin defeated Indiana in the match-play style event.
Up next for the Badgers is the Rio Verde Invitational in Rio Verde, Ariz. The contest will be another three-day event beginning March 6.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
