Northwestern beats Purdue in final as players shake off the rust in Big Ten Match Play

    Some of the Big Ten’s men’s teams started getting together a few years ago for a series of matches in Florida early in the spring portion of the college golf season and this year some of the women’s teams decided they would do the same.

   The last day of January and the first day of February are still deep enough in winter that you can’t quite get two matches in in the short window of daylight, so the afternoon matches Monday were declared final even though there were close matches still on the course.

   Ultimately, though, the goal is to shake the rust off and, probably most importantly, head for Florida and leave some of the godforsaken winter weather behind and play some golf on an actual golf course for a couple of days as opposed to a simulator indoors.

   A nice spot, the Innisbrook Resort’s Island Course, the resort’s original course, in Palm Harbor, Fla., was reserved for the inaugural Big Ten Match Play. Pretty sure it was a little chilly for Florida, particularly Monday, but I doubt if any of the women were complaining.

   Not everybody was there, including reigning Big Ten champion Michigan State and Michigan, both of which have become teams to be reckoned with come championship time. And not everybody brought all of their best players. There were 10 teams there – news flash, the Big Ten has more than 10 teams these days – and traditional conference powers Northwestern and Purdue met in Tuesday’s final with the Wildcats claiming a 4-2 victory at Innisbrook.

   Purdue came to Innisbrook ranked No. 37 by Golfstat at college golf’s midseason pause, making the Boilermakers the top seed. The Ohio State University, under the guidance of first-year head coach Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA champion at Lansdale Catholic and a former Buckeye standout, was the second seed with a No. 46 ranking. Northwestern was ranked 52^nd.

   As recently as 2017 Northwestern played in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match, falling to Arizona State not far from home at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. Purdue’s victory in the 2010 NCAA Championship at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C. remains the only national crown for a Big 10 team – ever.

   The Big Ten is not the best women’s golf conference in America. But year in and year out, it has a ton of good players from, quite literally, all over the world. Being a Philly guy and a Penn State graduate, it was natural that I would start paying closer attention to the Nittany Lions when I expanded this blog in 2016 in the aftermath of a 38-year journalism career.

   So, given an opportunity to take a deep dive into the Big Ten women’s scene as college golf starts warming up again, I just couldn’t resist.

   It was a pretty impressive performance by Northwestern in the final. The Wildcats always seem to be playing their best when the NCAA regionals approach in May.

   Jieni Li, a sophomore from China, rolled to a 5 and 4 decision over Sifat Sagoo, a junior from India, and Lauryn Nguyen, a freshman from Seattle, was an impressive 6 and 5 winner over Thiapa Pakdeesettakul to highlight Northwestern’s 4-2 victory in Tuesday’s final.

   Northwestern also got full points from Kelly Sim, a senior from Edgewater, N.J. who earned a 2 and 1 victory over Danielle du Toit, a senior from South Africa, and Jennifer Cai, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif. who claimed a 3 and 2 verdict over Daniela Ballesteros, a junior from Peru. Sim’s win concluded a 3-0 run through the Big Ten Match Play for her.

   Irene Kim, a junior from La Palma, Calif. and the runnerup in the individual chase in last spring’s Big Ten Championship, was not in the lineup for Northwestern.

   Purdue’s points came from Inez Wanamarta, a veteran graduate student from Thailand who cruised to a 4 and 3 victory over Jane Lu, a senior from China, and Jocelyn Bruch, a redshirt freshman from Carmel, Ind. who was an impressive 5 and 3 winner over Kelly Su, a senior from Scottsdale, Ariz. The wins for Wanamarta and Bruch capped a 3-0 run through the two days for them.

   Pretty sure Kan Bunnabodee, a junior from Thailand, is Purdue’s best player, but she was not in the lineup at Innisbrook. Bunnabodee made a run to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur last summer at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y.

   Although darkness resulted in an unsatisfying halt to play in Monday afternoon’s semifinals, the matchups were certainly interesting.

   Northwestern was awarded a 3.5-2.5 victory over Ohio State, but the Buckeyes were tough and figure to be a leading contender by the time the Big Ten Championship is contested in May. The championship moves this year from TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio to Fox Chapel Golf Club, a Seth Raynor Classic in suburban Pittsburgh that played host to the Senior Players Championship, a PGA Tour Champions major, from 2012 to 2014.

   Sim earned a full point for the Wildcats as she held a 1-up lead through 14 holes over Alexis Phadungmartvorakul, a graduate student from Bakersfield, Calif.

   Nguyen finished off a 5 and 4 victory over Faith Choi, a freshman from Frederick, Md., and Su earned the other full point for Northwestern as she held a 1-up lead over Kristin Jamieson, a junior from Hillsboro, Ohio, through 14 holes.

   Lu was tied with Lauren Peter, a junior from Carmel, Ind., through 14 holes, giving each team a half-point.

   Aneka Seumantufa, a senior from Emmitsburg, Md. and No. 58 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), earned a full point for Ohio State as she held a 1-up lead over Li through 14 holes and Jillian Bourdage, a redshirt freshman from Tamarac, Fla., also picked up a full point for the Buckeyes as she held a commanding 4-up advantage over Cai through 14 holes.

   Strom returned to her alma mater last fall after two strong seasons as the head coach at Kent State. Her 2019-’20 edition of the Golden Flashes was ranked sixth when their season was halted by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

   Strom played and was an assistant coach at Ohio State under Therese Hession, who, I’m sure, has been a mentor. Hession had taken over as the director of golf for both the men’s and women’s programs in 2018 and, in that role, hired Strom to become the head coach of the women’s team beginning in the fall. In December, Hession announced her retirement, officially stepping down from the Ohio State athletic department in early January. She had been involved with the women’s golf program at Ohio State, mostly as head coach, for 30 years.

   Much as she did when she took over from Greg Robertson at Kent State, Strom has inherited a talented group.

   Seumanutafa and Choi teamed up the fall before Seumanutafa started her career at Ohio State to earn a spot in the following spring’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship in a Golf Association of Philadelphia-administered qualifier at Kennett Square Golf & Country Club.

   The pair opened qualifying for that 2018 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball with a remarkable 12-under 60 at Timuquana Country Club, a Donald Ross design in Jacksonville, Fla., on their way to winning medalist honors in qualifying.

   But that’s only part of the story. Seumanutafa had to take a final at Ohio State and couldn’t get in a practice round. She showed up without ever seeing the golf course and had 10 birdies on her ball.

   Seumantafa was in Florida a couple of weeks ago auditioning for the U.S. Curtis Cup team in a practice session at Mountain Lake in Lake Wales, Fla. She wouldn’t have been invited if she wasn’t considered one of the top American amateurs.

   Bourdage was at Timuquana for the 2019 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball as well and she and her partner, Casey Weidenfeld, who’s a freshman at Auburn now, reached the final before falling, 2 and 1, to current Duke teammates Erica Shepherd and Megan Furtney.

   In the summer of 2019, Bourdage reached the final of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis. before falling, 1-up, to Lei Ye of China.

   Seumanutafa and Peter both contributed as freshmen the last time Ohio State won the Big Ten Championship in 2019 at TPC River’s Bend.

   Purdue advanced to the final by the same margin as Northwestern did, claiming a 3.5-2.5 victory over No. 73 Wisconsin in the other semifinal.

   Ballesteros held a 1-up lead on Mackenzie Hahn, a senior from Spring Grove, Ill., through 14 holes, Wanamarta had a commanding 3-up lead over Tracy Lee, a senior from South Korea, and Bruch was 1-up on Chloe Chun, a freshman from Hong Kong, to account for the three full points for the Boilermakers.

   Purdue got a half-point from du Toit as she was even with Vanessa Ho, a freshman from San Diego, through 14 holes.

   Wisconsin picked up a couple of full points as Emily Lauterbach, a junior from Hartland, Wis., had a 1-up lead on Sagoo through 15 holes and Gia Feliciano, a sophomore from Concord, Calif., had a 2-up lead on Pakdeesettakul through 14 holes.

   By the way, in checking out the Purdue roster, I finally figured out where Jade Gu, the former Pennsbury standout who was one of Pennsylvania’s top high school players throughout her high school career, landed. There was Gu on the roster for the ’Boilers, the first District One recruit that head coach Devon Brouse has brought to West Lafayette since 2010 PIAA champion Aurora Kan, whose scholastic career at Chichester I covered for the Delaware County Daily Times, was a four-year standout for Purdue.

   Ohio State earned a third-place finish as the Buckeyes claimed a 4.5-1.5 victory over Wisconsin in the consolation bracket Tuesday.

   Bourdage took a 4 and 2 decision over Feliciano, Seumanutafa edged Ho, 1-up, Choi captured a 2 and 1 verdict over Hahn and Peter edged Chun, 1-up, to account for the full points for the Buckeyes.

   Jamieson and Wisconsin’s Lee battled to a draw to give both teams a half-point and Phadungmartvorakul was an impressive 6 and 5 winner over Lauterbach to earn a full point for the Badgers.

   Denise St. Pierre’s Penn State team arrived at Innisbrook ranked 85^th. The Nittany Lions closed out their two-day stay with a solid 4-2 victory over No. 135 Rutgers in Tuesday’s consolation bracket.

   Katie Scheck, a freshman from Greensboro, Ga., capped a 3-0 performance over the 6,344-yard Island Course layout with a 3 and 2 victory over Lucrezia Rossetton, a freshman from Italy.

   Drew Nienhaus, a freshman from St. Louis, Mo., cruised to a 7 and 6 decision over Nicole Ewing, a junior from Mesa, Ariz. Penn State also picked up full points from Mathilde Delavallade, a junior from France who claimed a 4 and 3 victory over Leigha Devine, a junior from Windsor, Colo., and Taylor Waller, a redshirt junior who starred scholastically at Canon-McMillan and pulled out a 2 and 1 decision over Maeve Rossi, a senior from Italy.

   Rutgers got a pair of victories as Rikke Nardvik, a sophomore from Norway, earned a 5 and 3 decision over Isha Dhruva, a junior from Katy, Texas, and Sun Hwang, a junior from Fort Lee, N.J., pulled out a 1-up decision over Jami Morris, a freshman from Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

   Penn State opened play in the Big Ten Match Play Monday morning with a 4-2 loss to Northwestern as the Nittany Lions battled to a couple of draws and were mostly competitive with the tough Wildcats.

   Scheck opened strong with a 2-up victory over Su for Penn State’s lone full point. Nienhaus battled Nguyen to a draw and Dhruva earned a half-point for the Lions as she ended in a deadlock with Li.

   Delavallade battled to the final hole before suffering a 1-up setback at the hands of Sim. Waller fell, 3 and 2, to Lu and Morris dropped a 7 and 5 verdict to Cai.

   Penn State was tied in three matches with 97^th ranked Minnesota when darkness fell in Monday afternoon’s consolation bracket with the Gophers, who were ahead in two matches, getting a 3.5-2.5 edge.

   Minnesota’s Joanne Free, a graduate student from Scotland, had a commanding 7-up lead on Morris through 12 holes, and Emma Carpenter, a junior from DeKalb, Ill., had a 4-up lead on Nienhaus through 13 holes, giving the Gophers two full points.

   Grace Curran, a junior from New Lenox, Ill., was tied with Delvallade through 13 holes, Geraldine Wong, a graduate student from Malaysia, was deadlocked with Dhruva through 13 holes, and Leah Herzog, a senior from Red Wing, Minn., was even with Waller through 13 holes.

   Scheck earned a full point for Penn State as she was 1-up over Alexis McMurray, a freshman from Canada making her debut with Minnesota this week, through 13 holes.

   Two of Penn State’s top players, Sarah Willis, a senior from Eaton, Ohio, and Victoria Tip-Ache, a sophomore from Vienna, Va. via Thailand, were not in the lineup at Innisbrook.

   It doesn’t look like Rutgers was seeded into the championship bracket, but the Red Knights won their first two matches, opening with a 4.5-1.5 victory over No. 130 Iowa and earning a 4-2 victory over No. 128 Indiana in the truncated Monday afternoon session before falling to Penn State Tuesday.

   In the opening round, Rutgers got full points from Rossettin in a 2 and 1 victory over the Hawkeyes’ Morgan Goldstein, a junior from Las Vegas, Nev., Maeve Rossi in a 2 and 1 win over Lea Zeitler, a junior from Austria, Ewing in a 1-up decision over Dana Lerner, a senior from Israel, and Hwang in another tight 1-up verdict over Manuela Lizarazu, a senior from Colombia.

   Nordvik earned a half-point as she battled Klara Wildhaber, a sophomore from Switzerland, to a draw. Paula Miranda, a freshman from Mexico, earned a full point for Iowa with a 4 and 3 victory over Devine.

   Monday afternoon, Hwang actually completed a 6 and 5 victory over Indiana’s Maddie Dittoe, a senior from Indianapolis, and the Red Knights were ahead in three other matches in their victory over the Hoosiers.

   Rossettin held a 2-up lead on Alexis Miestowski, a senior from Schererville, Ind. through 14 holes, Maeve Rossi had a 1-up edge on Mary Parsons, a graduate student from Canada, through 14 holes and Ewing held a 1-up lead on Margaret Fernandez, a freshman from Singapore, through 14 holes.

   Indiana picked up two full points as Valerie Clancy, a junior from Ireland, had a 3-up lead over Devine through 15 holes, and Aine Donegan, a freshman from Ireland, had a 3-up lead on Nordvik through 15 holes.

   On the final day Tuesday, Carpenter completed a 3-0 run for Minnesota at Innisbrook with a 2-up victory over No. 72 Nebraska’s Michaela Vavrova, a sophomore from Slovakia, in the Gophers’ 4-2 victory.

   Minnesota also got wins from Curran, who edged Vanessa Bouvet, a senior from France, 1-up, Wong, who claimed a 3 and 1 victory over Lindsay Thiele, a sophomore from Wahoo, Neb., and Free, who topped Kirsten Baete, a senior from Beatrice, Neb., 1-up.

   Nebraska got its two full points from Megan Whittaker, a sophomore from Elkhorn, Neb. who defeated Herzog, 2 and 1, and from Mai Takahashi, a freshman from Japan who beat McMurray, 3 and 2.

   Indiana and Iowa battled to a 3-3 tie in the final consolation-bracket match Tuesday.

   The Hoosiers got wins from Clancy, who claimed a 2 and 1 verdict over Miranda, Fernandez, who edged Lizarazu, 1-up, and Donegan, who pulled out a 1-up victory over Lerner.

   Winners for the Hawkeyes were Wildhaber, who earned a 3 and 1 decision over Parsons, Zeitler, who edged Dittoe, 1-up, and Goldstein, who captured a 3 and 2 victory over Miestowski