The Colorado women’s golf team finished in a tie for 10th place at the Collegiate Invitational held at Guadalajara Country Club in Mexico. The Buffaloes, ranked No. 43 nationally, completed the 54-hole tournament with a total score of 39-over-par, matching Washington for the position.
After Friday’s opening 27 holes, Colorado was ninth at 16-over-par. The team concluded its second round early Saturday at 13-over and finished with another 16-over in the final round.
Florida State, ranked No. 28, won the event with a total of four-over-par, finishing three strokes ahead of No. 19 Oklahoma State. Houston secured third place at nine-over-par, followed by Virginia and BYU.
Scoring proved challenging on the par-72 course that measured 6,210 yards. Only three out of the 36 team rounds were under par during the two-day event; fifteen rounds saw teams finish at least ten strokes over par.
Reflecting on their performance after a three-month break following what was described as their best fall season in history, head coach Madeleine Sheils commented: “Tough couple of days of golf for us. We just didn’t have our best stuff and a great golf course exposed some weaknesses in our game. This weekend showed us what we need to improve on and we are excited to get after it when we return home.”
Sophomore Ellen O’Shaughnessy led Colorado individually by tying for 15th place at three-over-par (219). O’Shaughnessy had started strong and was sixth after Friday’s play but encountered difficulties on the front nine during her final round before recovering to secure her fifth career top-20 finish and third this season.
“I’m really proud of Ellen for a solid individual performance,” Sheils said. “She showed great poise this weekend and competed hard. Just great stuff from her.”
Other results included Vanessa Ngo tying for 32nd at eleven-over-par (227), Maya McVey tying for 45th at fourteen-over (230), Carolyn Fuller tying for 48th one stroke behind McVey (231), and Brenna Higgins tying for 53rd at nineteen-over (235).
Carmen Lim from Washington claimed medalist honors with a five-under-par score, winning by two strokes over four other competitors who tied for second place.
The Buffaloes will next compete in the Thunderbird Intercollegiate scheduled for February 9-10 at Tucson Country Club in Arizona.
