Final Results (.pdf) I Photo Gallery

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The IUPUI women's golf team shot a final round 290, three shots off the single-round school record, and climbed four spots to finish second at this week's Santa Clara Colby Invitational at Silver Creek Valley Golf Course in San Jose. Ball State won the tournament at 605 (303-302) while the Jaguars were four shots back at 609 (319-290).

Host Santa Clara was third at 615 (307-308) and UC-RIverside was fourth at 616 (301-315).

IUPUI's 29-shot improvement from day one to day two helped salvage a second-place finish that looked like a pipe dream after the first round.

"I'd say there was a little intimidation as we were driving in to the course (on Sunday)," head coach John Andrews said. "I like playing in Northern California because the grass is so similar to Indiana's, but the terrain is much different. We finally seemed to get comfortable with the golf course and obviously that helped us score better."

Individually, IUPUI senior Lauren Kuss claimed runner-up honors with a 36-hole 1-over 145 (76-69), thanks to a career-low final round 69. She became just the second player in school history to go under 70 in a round and finished three shots back of Ball State's Jenna Hague for medalist honors. In addition, her 36-hole 145 was the lowest of her career and third-lowest in school history.

Both Kuss and classmate Jordan Woods climbed 10 shots on the leaderboard on the final day with Woods moving from 16th to sixth. The Brownsburg-native finished the tournament at 149 (78-71) and capitalized on the par 5's, playing them at 6-under this week. Her score was two strokes off the best tournament of her career.

While Woods was good on the par 5's, Kuss feasted on the par 3's and turned in 22 pars over 36 holes this week.

"I was putting the ball really well," Kuss said. "I didn't make any super long putts, but I was making all my short putts.

"The terrain is so much different out here because of all the hills. There's never really just a flat lie. You're either playing with the ball above or below your feet so you're having to try a lot of different shots."

Sophomore Yuri Otsuka finished tied for 12th at 9-over 153 (80-73) and senior Jordan Essman tied for 35th at 162 (85-77).

Redshirt freshman Maria Krempp rounded out the Jaguars' lineup at 174 (87-87).

As a team, IUPUI was easily the best of the field on the course's three par-5's, playing those at 15-under as a team. Santa Clara was the next closest, playing the par 5's at 7-under.

Like the single-round 290, IUPUI's 36-hole 609 was also the second-lowest in school history, missing the school record by 14 shots.

IUPUI capped the fall with the best scoring average in The Summit League at 310.2. Spring tournaments will be announced in the coming weeks on IUPUIJags.com.

Team Standings
1. Ball State - 303-302=605 (+29)
2. IUPUI - 319-290=609 (+33)
3. Santa Clara - 307-308=615 (+39)
4. UC-Riverside - 301-315=616 (+40)
5. Seattle - 321-304=625 (+49)
6. CSU-Northridge - 318-308=626 (+50)
7. Cal Poly - 313-316=629 (+53)
t-8. Sacramento State - 329-304=633 (+57)
t-8. Montana State - 320-313=633 (+57)
10. Northern Colorado - 326-322=648 (+72)
11. CSU-Bakersfield - 323-328=651 (+75)

Individual Standings
2. Lauren Kuss - 76-69=145 (+1)
t-6. Jordan Woods - 78-71=149 (+5)
t-12. Yuri Otsuka - 80-73=153 (+9)
t-35. Jordan Essman - 85-77=162 (+18)
64. Maria Krempp - 87-87=174 (+30)