By Andrew Hartley(@andrewhart1ey) – Spear Reporter
Kajsa Arwefjall judging her ball before approaching a putt on the green. // Photo courtesy SJSU Athletics
After being led by their upperclassmen to start the year, SJSU had three underclassmen finish in the top ten at the Illini Women’s Invitational at Medinah. While it finished fourth in team play, freshman Tessa Kremser dominated the separate individual tournament winning by 10 strokes.
The Spartans shot an 8-under par Tuesday that helped separate them from the middle of the pack. Finishing the tournament with a 10-under par, 854, they were one of four teams that finished with double-digits under par.
“We’re looking to build on this and just keep on getting better,” said SJSU head coach Dana Dormann.
In only her third collegiate tournament, Kremser finished tied for fifth overall which would lead SJSU. While she shot a team-best 210 and a skillful 67 in round one, her score did not count toward the team total as she competed as an individual. After a performance like this, it may be the last time Kremser plays as an individual.
In this tournament, it was redshirt freshman Darae Chung and sophomore Rebecca Gyllner who led the way.
After day one, Chung not only led the team; she tied for first overall in the tournament. She ended up finishing tied for ninth overall and is the only Spartan to finish in the SJSU top-3 every tournament so far.
Gyllner tied for ninth with Chung and set multiple career highs. Tuesday, she shot her best collegiate round of 67 where she had five birdies and an eagle. This performance also helped her achieve her career-best tournament score of 212.
Once again, the scores SJSU posted were not bad by any means. They were just not elite enough to top first place LSU, who had two players tied for first overall shooting a 9-under par, 207. SJSU would finish 17 strokes behind the Tigers.
The Spartans came into this tournament with a third-place finish in The Molley Intercollegiate Invitaitonal where they were led by upperclassmen Kajsa Arwefjall and Lucia Lopez Ortega.
For the 11th ranked team in the nation, it’s about receiving consistency from the entire lineup. SJSU has already had four different players finish in the top two through three tournaments.
SJSU will finish its fall season back in California competing in the Stanford Intercollegiate Oct. 20-22. This is the only tournament this fall taking place over the weekend.
“We hope some of you can come out and watch us play there,” said Dormann.