Double Up: Allendesalazar Medalist; Women's Golf Captures Tourney Title

Tuesday, March 21

Louisville, Ky. (Nevel Meade Golf Club)

TBA

Central Michigan University

Nevel Meade Collegiate

CMU sophomore Casilda Allendesalazar led wire to wire in winning the Nevel Meade Collegiate in Prospect, Ky. It was the fifth win of her career.

Double Up: Allendesalazar Medalist; Women's Golf Captures Tourney Title

3/21/2023 7:05:00 PM | Women's Golf

Leaderboard Team Standings Team-by-Team Player Scores

Allendesalazar wins third consecutive event; Chippewas notch three top-10 finishes in bringing home second tournament title of the season

By: Andy Sneddon

PROSPECT, Ky. – Casilda Allendesalazar got it to the barn, and so did her teammates.

Allendesalazar closed with a 2-over par 74 on Tuesday to finish with an even-par 144 in capturing medalist honors and leading the Central Michigan women's golf team to victory in the Nevel Meade Collegiate at blustery and chilly Nevel Meade Golf Course.

The Chippewas shot a final-round 305 to finish with a 36-hole, 602 total for a seven-shot victory over runner-up Evansville (609) in the 13-team field.

CMU led wire to wire in the event, which was shortened from 54 holes when cold weather wiped out Monday's first round.

The Chippewas opened with a 297 on Monday afternoon, the low round of the tournament. Their Tuesday 305 was the low round of the day.

"The wind made things difficult today," CMU coach Ryan Williams said. "It was tough scoring. It felt good to just play good, solid golf and do what we needed to do and go out and execute.

"Especially with the wind today, we knew it wasn't going to be pretty, that it was going to be a tough battle, and they went out and got it done and they feel good about it."

CMU's Ashley Goh matched Allendesalazar with a 2-over 74 to finish in third place at 147, while teammate Claudia Salvador posted her second consecutive 77 to move up six spots and tie for 10^th at 154.

CMU's Padgett Chitty shot 80 on Tuesday to finish tied for 19^th at 157, while the Chippewas' Rachel Kauflin carded an 83 to finish at 165. CMU's Zoe Vartyan, playing as an individual, closed with a 77 to improve her standing by 17 places as she finished among a group tied for 29^th at 160 in the 78-player field.

Allendesalazar, a sophomore from Spain, continued her remarkable 2022-23 campaign with her third consecutive first-place finish and the fifth of her career.

She tied for medalist honors in the Chippewas' last two events, the Huntsville.org Intercollegiate in Alabama and the Rio Verde Invitational in Arizona.

"I've been trying to keep my head in each shot and not thinking ahead," said Allendesalazar, who has seven top-10 finishes in nine tournaments this season. "I've struggled with that in the past, not thinking shot by shot. And I'm not thinking about the other (players); just worrying about my own game."

A supremely talented player who is clearly finding her groove, Allendesalazar made three birdies against five bogeys on Tuesday after carding an eagle and three birdies against three bogeys on Monday.

Allendesalazar's 144 ties for the third best 36-hole total in program history and she did not have a double bogey in the tournament. She had just one double bogey over 54 holes in winning at Huntsville, and had none in placing first at Rio Verde.

"Knowing when to hit my driver and when not," Allendesalazar said of her ability to avoid big numbers, a critical factor in posting consistently low scores. "Knowing when to be aggressive and when not to be, knowing when to step back and lay up rather than going for it."

Allendesalazar entered Tuesday's round with a two-shot lead that she never relinquished.

"It's different going to the course and playing with a lead knowing that everyone's chasing you," Williams said. "It's not the easiest thing to deal with and she went out and hit really good shots, managed her game, and played steady, good golf. That was really good to see."

Goh's third-place finish was her fourth top-seven of the season. She was the medalist when the Chippewas won their first tournament of 2022-23 at the Shirley Spork EMU Invitational in October.

Goh, a junior from Malaysia, has shot 2-over or better in six of her last nine rounds.

"She was really good today, very steady," Williams said. "She took advantage when she had opportunities and made good decisions when things got tough. That's what it takes to shoot a round like that under pressure and we're really happy to know that we can rely on that."

Salvador's back-to-back 77s give her seven straight rounds in the 70s and serve as further proof that the junior from Spain is regaining her confidence and becoming a consistent scorer. It was her second straight top-10 finish after a season-best T6 at Huntsville.

"She finished her round birdie-birdie today," Williams said. "She just stayed with it, worked really hard. It's a huge step in the right direction and big confidence builder and I think that's something that she's going to use going forward. It's going to be huge for the team too. Really happy to see that and she's extremely deserving."

The Chippewas finished well ahead of Mid-American Conference foe Bowling Green (fourth, 618) and Oakland (fifth, 632), both important barometers for CMU as it looks ahead to Bowling Green's Dolores Black Invitational on April 7-8 and the Mid-American Conference Championships April 21-23 in Kalamazoo.

"We talked in the beginning of the season that it's a long spring season and we want to trend in the right direction all season long," Williams said. "This is another step that we wanted to take, and it shows that we're doing the right things and we're in a really good place at the right time. Really excited heading down the stretch.

"We definitely gained a lot of confidence from this. It's really nice to see that the kids have self-belief, that they're truly buying in, making smart decisions, staying within themselves, and that's what it takes to play your best golf when there's the most pressure on you and that's what we're looking at when we come to the MAC Tournament."