To begin the season, the ‘Cats played at the Annika Intercollegiate presented by 3M. The field was stacked with seven of the top-10 teams in the country competing. NU started strong with a four shot lead after the opening round. The second day proved more difficult, as the team entered the final round in third place. Wake Forest eventually claimed the victory, while NU finished tied for fourth.
The ‘Cats jumped out quickly, taking a four-shot lead after the opening round. The conditions were demanding, with winds gusting up to 25 mph, yet NU was the only team to break par, finishing 1-under. Sophomore Megan Meng posted a career-best 4-under to pace the lineup. First-year Arianna Lau impressed in her debut with a steady 1-under 68 as NU grabbed early control of the leaderboard.
Day two challenged the ‘Cats as they shot 5-over. Lau once again led NU with a 70, the team’s only under-par round of the day. Northwestern trailed by four heading into the final round but remained in position to compete for the title. Lau was also three strokes off the individual lead.
In the final round, NU got off to a hot start. Lau birdied her first two holes, and Dianna Lee rolled in four consecutive birdies from holes 3 through 6. The team faltered at holes 13 and 14, playing them 4-over, but closed strong on the final two par 5s. Despite their push, it was not enough to secure the championship. The ‘Cats tied Texas for fourth at 2-under overall and posted its best round of the tournament with a 6-under score. Lee led the way with a 67 and Ashley Yun followed with a 68.
The course played tough all week, with every round averaging over par. Day one was the hardest as the field averaged 75.47, making NU’s 1-under opening round even more impressive. Scoring eased on the final day at 72.5, but it still played above par. Only four holes averaged under par for the week, with the par-5 ninth the easiest. The par-4 11th was the toughest, playing at 4.41 for an average of 0.41 strokes over par.
Northwestern separated itself on the par-3s, finishing 5-under across the week, three shots better than Texas. Wake Forest, the eventual champion, played those holes at 8-over. The Wildcats also tied for the tournament lead with 58 total birdies.
Individually, first-year Arianna Lau led the way with a strong debut. The 17-year-old from Hong Kong finished 4-under and tied for fifth overall. She was steady with rounds of 71, 70 and 71 and excelled on par 5s, playing them in 5-under, fourth best in the field. Lau’s performance capped a terrific start to her NU career and showed she is already poised to be one of the team’s leaders this season.
Ashley Yun and Dianna Lee also turned in strong performances for NU. Yun followed rounds of 73 and 74 with a stellar 4-under final round to finish at 1-under for the tournament. She excelled on the par 3s, playing them in 4-under to lead the entire field, and tied for 10th overall. Lee also delivered on the final day, carding a 67 after opening with rounds of 75 and 74. She made 14 birdies across the week and tied for 15th.
Megan Meng and Hsin Tai Lin rounded out the lineup. Meng opened with a career-best 4-under to lead the field after day one, but slipped with rounds of 3-over and 4-over to finish tied for 23rd. The sophomore still had an impressive showing, ranking third in the field in par-3 scoring. Tai Lin never quite found her rhythm and closed with a 4-over round, though she did record eight birdies during the week to place 54th.
Next up, the ‘Cats return home to Illinois for the Jackson T. Stephens Cup from September 15-17. The event will be held at Shoreacres in Lake Bluff, about a 45-minute drive from campus, and will give fans their first chance to see the defending champions in person this season. The field will be loaded once again, featuring top-ranked Stanford, No. 2 Oregon and several other national contenders. NU will look to build on its strong start as the fall schedule continues.
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