Kan, Calamaro have strong fall finishes

 To the surprise of absolutely no one who followed their scholastic golf careers, Aurora Kan, the 2010 PIAA champion at Chichester, and Jackie Calamaro, the 2009 PIAA champion at Radnor, finished their fall campaigns in the Big 10 on a strong note in the last couple of days.

   Kan, a freshman at Purdue, helped the Boilermakers claim their first title of the fall in their final event of the first half of the season at the Landfall Tradition, which was completed Sunday at the Country Club of Landfall’s Jack Nicklaus Course in Wilmington, N.C.

   Purdue was led by junior Paula Reto, a native of South Africa, who claimed the first individual title of her career with a 2-over 218 total. Reto had rounds of 71, 77 and 70, which enabled the Boilermakers to post a 904 total and cruise to a 14-shot victory over Auburn.

   Purdue’s international cast included junior Laura Gonzalez-Escallon from Belgium, who finished in a tie for seventh with rounds of 76, 73 and 76 and junior Jam Vilairatana of Thailand, who carded a career-low 73 in the final round to finish in a tie for 24th at 232.

   Kan, the 2010 Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur champion, was next for the Boilermakers with steady rounds of 79, 78 and 78 for a 235 total that left her in a tie for 34th. Rounding out the scoring for Purdue was junior Kishi Sina, who had a 237 total and finished in a tie for 45th.

  Purdue returns to action at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic Feb. 12 to 14 in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

   Calamaro, who is a redshirt freshman at Illinois after undergoing hip surgery, earned a spot in the lineup for the Fighting Illini after a strong showing in the recent Hoosier Fall Invitational (check last week’s blog post for the full story on that).

   Illinois earned its second straight runnerup finish at the Fighting Camel Fall Classic, which was completed Tuesday in Blues Creek, N.C. Weather delays forced a 27-hole windup Tuesday.

   Senior Samantha Sloan led the way with rounds of 78, 74 and 77 for a 13-over 229 total that gave her a fifth-place finish. That enabled the Fighting Illini to post a 923 total that left them second to tournament host Campbell by 21 shots.

   Calamaro, a two-time Pennsylvania Junior Girls champion, was Illinois’ second-lowest scorer with rounds of 80, 74 and 77 that left her in a tie for sixth.

   Rounding out the scoring for Illinois were senior Hailey Koschmann and sophomore Ember Schuldt, who finished tied for 14th at 235, and senior Katelin Dilger (238, 24th) as all five players earned top-25 finishes.

   It was also the final event of the fall season for the Fighting Illini. They will get back in action Feb. 4 in Boca Raton, Fla. in the Illinois Challenge, a dual-match competition with in-state rival Illinois State, albeit in warmer climes that they would find in Illinois in February.