Chippewas Surge To Third-Place Finish

Tuesday, October 1

Ypsilanti, Mich.

Central Michigan University

EMU Shirley Spork Invitational

CMU freshman Padgett Chitty shot a 1-over 73 on Tuesday during the final round of the Shirley Spork EMU Invitational at Eagle Crest in Ypsilanti.

Photo by: Jose Juarez

10/1/2019 5:02:00 PM | Women's Golf

CMU finishes with second-best 54-hole score in program history

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

YPSILANTI, Mich. – Claudia Salvador shot an even-par 72 and Padgett Chitty posted a 1-over 73 on Tuesday as the Central Michigan golf team surged to a third-place finish in the 12-team Shirley Spork Eastern Michigan Invitational at Eagle Crest Golf Club.

The Chippewas shot 302 to finish with a 913 total, 14 shots behind first-place Eastern Michigan, the host school which was playing on its home course. Oakland (903) was second. The Chippewas finished ahead of Mid-American Conference rivals Western Michigan and Ohio. The Broncos (916) were fourth and the Bobcats (951) placed 10^th.

The 54-hole tournament kicked off on Monday with 36 holes; the final round was played on Tuesday in conditions more akin to the height of summer – temperatures in the mid 80s with high humidity – than the second week of autumn.

The Chippewas began the day tied for fifth place with Western Michigan. Their 302 tied for the second-lowest round of Tuesday's final round.

"I feel pretty good to be quite honest," said second-year CMU coach Jim Earle, whose team added a third-place finish to a fall ledger that began two weeks ago with the first tournament victory in program history. "At one point in the first round we had a pretty significant lead and we ran into big numbers which derailed those hopes. We played OK in the second round.

"Today I thought we were really good from top to bottom. We set out to finish strong today and we did that. We did not limp to the finish line. We had a lot of ground to make up on some really good teams and we made that up. I feel like it's another giant step forward."

The 913 is the second-lowest 54-hole total in program history after the 901 the Chippewas posted in the 2018 MAC Fall Preview, and the 302 was the second-best 18-hole team score after the 291 they posted in the same '18 Fall Preview. CMU's 36-hole 611 total also ranks as the second-best in program history.

And it could have been even better, however CMU junior Meghan Deardorff was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. That meant the Chippewas had to count their other four scores, including a 77 from Zoe Vartyan and an 80 from Rachel Leucuta.

"Meghan played excellent today and has been playing some really good golf," said Earle, who added that Deardorff discovered the scoring error and reported it to tournament officials. "To Meghan's credit she realized the mistake. She could have said nothing to anyone and she wasn't having it. She wasn't going to walk away from there with signing for an incorrect score.

"It was an innocent error; it was a great show of character on Meghan's part to disqualify herself. That's something you want your team leaders to do and she did it."

Salvador's 72 tied for the low round of the day in the 75-player field. She finished at 226, as did Chitty, and the pair was among a group tied for 12^th. Vartyan came in at 229 to tie for 19^th, while Leucuta posted a 242 total to finish 52^nd.

Salvador's 72 marked the ninth time in program history that a Chippewa has shot par or better. And the 226 that she and Padgett posted stands as the third-lowest 54-hole total in program history after Bria Colosky's 215 at the MAC Fall Preview in 2018 and Jami Laude's 221 at the '18 North Florida Collegiate.

Laude closed with an 80 for a 247 total, while Ashley Liles posted an 88 for a 250. Both were playing the tournament as individuals.

Mikaela Schulz of Michigan shot an even-par 72 to finish at 4-under 212 and earn medalist honors. She finished two shots ahead of teammate Ashley Kim. Both were playing as individuals.