A week after the men came and left Chicago without much fanfare, the women’s squad currently sits in a prime position to leave the Windy City with its second victory on the year.
After 36 holes at the Northwestern-hosted Windy City Collegiate, the No. 6 Gators stand alone at the top of the leaderboard, the result of a blazing 10 under team effort in day one of the event.
Continuing with her recent brilliant form, senior Sierra Brooks currently sits near the top of the leaderboard. Brooks produced an opening-day six-under 138 total (67-71), enough for third place individually heading into Tuesday’s final round.
Close behind were juniors Addie Baggarly and Elin Esborn, who each broke par in Monday’s afternoon 18 holes, ending the day tied for fifth and tied for 23rd, respectively.
As for the men, Monday’s second round of play at the Nike Intercollegiate in Portland, Oregon, saw the young squad head in the wrong direction.
The Gators stumbled to a six-over 292 total on a day where nine of the 15 teams in attendance shot par or better, dropping one-third of the way down the leaderboard to a humble 12th place.
Junior John Axelsen matched his first round 71 with another one, this loop around succumbing to two early bogeys on a day when scoring was at a premium.
Freshman Ricky Castillo equally struggled to fend off bogeys on Monday, signing for a one over 72, and currently sitting tied for 18th individually.
If the men are to make any push to crack the top 10, they’ll have to string together four solid scores on a Pumpkin Ridge course that has clearly offered low numbers this week.
Follow Jack Braverman on Twitter @jack_braverman. Contact him at jbraverman@alligator.org.
Sierra Brooks.
