Tuesday, March 7
Huntsville, Ala. (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail)
8 a.m.
Central Michigan University
vs
Huntsville.org Intercollegiate
Casilda Allendesalazar finished with an even par 216 to share medalist honors at the Huntsville.org Intercollegiate on Tuesday.
Allendesalazar First at Huntsville
3/7/2023 8:01:00 PM | Women's Golf
Sophomore is first 4-time winner in CMU women's golf history
OWENS CROSS ROADS, Ala. – Central Michigan's Casilda Allendesalazar made all the shots and made some history.
Allendesalazar, a sophomore from Spain, shot a 1-under par 71 on Tuesday to finish at even-par 216 and earn co-medalist honors at the Huntsville.org Intercollegiate on the Highlands Course at Hampton Cove.
Allendesalazar is the first Chippewa female golfer to win four times in her career. Her first victory came at the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Invitational in Sept. 2021; she followed a month later with a victory at the Toledo Rocket Classic, and a week ago tied for first at the Rio Verde Invitational in Rio Verde, Ariz.
It is the second win for a Chippewa in the 2022-23 season after Ashley Goh captured the Shirley Spork EMU Invitational in Ypsilanti in October.
"She played really solid today," CMU coach Ryan Williams said of Allendesalazar, who made three birdies against two bogeys on her round. "She's making good decisions, playing mature golf and that's why you see just steady, good solid rounds from her over the last three tournaments this spring season and even toward the end of last fall."
Allendesalazar opened on Monday with a 4-over 76 and then bounced back with a 3-under 69 in Monday's afternoon round.
A week ago, Allendesalazar tied for first with a 1-over 217 before losing in a playoff at the Rio Verde Invitational in Arizona. Eight times in 23 rounds during the 2022-23 season has Allendesalazar shot par or better; six of those rounds have come in her last nine, including a program-record 4-under 68 a month ago at the Falcon Florida Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
In 54 holes at Huntsville, Allendesalazar recorded just one double bogey, and that came on the final hole of her opening round. She had 11 birdies and nine bogeys.
"She's leaving shots out there still," Williams said. "You listen to her talk and she's not hitting it perfect, but that shows her high standard. At the end of the day I think she realizes it's her decision making, her strategy and her smart play that are putting her in these situations and it shows that she's got everything it takes.
"She's not trying to do anything miraculous, not doing anything super aggressive or careless. It's all smart decisions, understanding that she's good enough to be conservative and play steady golf and win golf tournaments. That's a really good trend and if she keeps doing it, she's going to keep having success. Love to see it."
The Chippewas posted a 295 team score, their best of the tournament, in Tuesday's final round. They finished with a 902 total and in sixth place, three shots behind fifth-place Samford, the host school, and four back of Austin Peay and Belmont, which tied for third.
CMU posted a first-round 304 on Monday and then carded a 303 in the second round.
"We were a little disappointed after (Monday)," Williams said. "I think we left a lot of shots out there and had a bunch of big numbers on the scorecards, but we didn't let it get to us, we didn't let it affect our attitude or our optimism (Tuesday).
"You tell them to learn from it, grow from it, not dwell on it and move on. I think they did that really well and I was really pleased to see how we performed (Tuesday). It wasn't flawless, it's never going to be flawless, but to be able to bounce back from big numbers, to be able to cash in some lower rounds and shoot a 295 today was really good."
Goh posted a 1-over 73 on Tuesday to finish tied for 16th with a 223 total, while CMU's Padgett Chitty shot 74 – an eight-shot improvement over her second-round score – to finish tied for 37th at 232.
Also for the Chippewas on Tuesday, Rachel Kauflin and Zoe Vartyan both shot 77. The steady Kauflin finished tied for 32nd at 232, while Vartyan overcame an opening-round 87 to finish at 243 and in a tie for 53rd in the 64-player field.
CMU's Claudia Salvador, playing as an individual, shot 78 on Tuesday to finish at 224 and tied for 20th. Salvador posted a career-best 70 in Monday's second round.
Another Chippewa playing as an individual, Mackenzie Baustad, finished at 244 and in 55th place.
The 295 was CMU's best team score in its last six rounds. The Chippewas will compete in two tournaments before the Mid-American Conference Championship April 21-23 at Kalamazoo Country Club.
"We were competing with some solid teams in Huntsville and we were right there," Williams said. "A couple shots here and there go our way and we're in third or fourth and we'd be feeling a lot better. But that's not our barometer for the season and what we're doing."
"There were a lot of small victories this week, a lot of good things that happened for the team that are moving us in the right direction and that's good to see. Definitely happy with the trend and the way that we're going.
"Today was a really good step in the right direction toward our ultimate goal of playing our best golf at the end of the season."
Allendesalazar, a sophomore from Spain, shot a 1-under par 71 on Tuesday to finish at even-par 216 and earn co-medalist honors at the Huntsville.org Intercollegiate on the Highlands Course at Hampton Cove.
Allendesalazar is the first Chippewa female golfer to win four times in her career. Her first victory came at the Oakland Golden Grizzlies Invitational in Sept. 2021; she followed a month later with a victory at the Toledo Rocket Classic, and a week ago tied for first at the Rio Verde Invitational in Rio Verde, Ariz.
It is the second win for a Chippewa in the 2022-23 season after Ashley Goh captured the Shirley Spork EMU Invitational in Ypsilanti in October.
"She played really solid today," CMU coach Ryan Williams said of Allendesalazar, who made three birdies against two bogeys on her round. "She's making good decisions, playing mature golf and that's why you see just steady, good solid rounds from her over the last three tournaments this spring season and even toward the end of last fall."
Allendesalazar opened on Monday with a 4-over 76 and then bounced back with a 3-under 69 in Monday's afternoon round.
A week ago, Allendesalazar tied for first with a 1-over 217 before losing in a playoff at the Rio Verde Invitational in Arizona. Eight times in 23 rounds during the 2022-23 season has Allendesalazar shot par or better; six of those rounds have come in her last nine, including a program-record 4-under 68 a month ago at the Falcon Florida Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
In 54 holes at Huntsville, Allendesalazar recorded just one double bogey, and that came on the final hole of her opening round. She had 11 birdies and nine bogeys.
"She's leaving shots out there still," Williams said. "You listen to her talk and she's not hitting it perfect, but that shows her high standard. At the end of the day I think she realizes it's her decision making, her strategy and her smart play that are putting her in these situations and it shows that she's got everything it takes.
"She's not trying to do anything miraculous, not doing anything super aggressive or careless. It's all smart decisions, understanding that she's good enough to be conservative and play steady golf and win golf tournaments. That's a really good trend and if she keeps doing it, she's going to keep having success. Love to see it."
The Chippewas posted a 295 team score, their best of the tournament, in Tuesday's final round. They finished with a 902 total and in sixth place, three shots behind fifth-place Samford, the host school, and four back of Austin Peay and Belmont, which tied for third.
CMU posted a first-round 304 on Monday and then carded a 303 in the second round.
"We were a little disappointed after (Monday)," Williams said. "I think we left a lot of shots out there and had a bunch of big numbers on the scorecards, but we didn't let it get to us, we didn't let it affect our attitude or our optimism (Tuesday).
"You tell them to learn from it, grow from it, not dwell on it and move on. I think they did that really well and I was really pleased to see how we performed (Tuesday). It wasn't flawless, it's never going to be flawless, but to be able to bounce back from big numbers, to be able to cash in some lower rounds and shoot a 295 today was really good."
Goh posted a 1-over 73 on Tuesday to finish tied for 16th with a 223 total, while CMU's Padgett Chitty shot 74 – an eight-shot improvement over her second-round score – to finish tied for 37th at 232.
Also for the Chippewas on Tuesday, Rachel Kauflin and Zoe Vartyan both shot 77. The steady Kauflin finished tied for 32nd at 232, while Vartyan overcame an opening-round 87 to finish at 243 and in a tie for 53rd in the 64-player field.
CMU's Claudia Salvador, playing as an individual, shot 78 on Tuesday to finish at 224 and tied for 20th. Salvador posted a career-best 70 in Monday's second round.
Another Chippewa playing as an individual, Mackenzie Baustad, finished at 244 and in 55th place.
The 295 was CMU's best team score in its last six rounds. The Chippewas will compete in two tournaments before the Mid-American Conference Championship April 21-23 at Kalamazoo Country Club.
"We were competing with some solid teams in Huntsville and we were right there," Williams said. "A couple shots here and there go our way and we're in third or fourth and we'd be feeling a lot better. But that's not our barometer for the season and what we're doing."
"There were a lot of small victories this week, a lot of good things that happened for the team that are moving us in the right direction and that's good to see. Definitely happy with the trend and the way that we're going.
"Today was a really good step in the right direction toward our ultimate goal of playing our best golf at the end of the season."
Players Mentioned
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