Michigan
Windy City Collegiate
Borja Earns Top-Five Finish, Wolverines Close Ninth at Windy City Collegiate
10/4/2022 5:39:00 PM | Women's Golf
» With a closing 306 team tally, No. 23 Michigan posted a ninth-place finish at Northwestern's Windy City Collegiate Classic at the Exmoor Country Club.
» Hailey Borja paced U-M with her second straight top-10 individual finish, tying for fourth at 218 (73-68-77, +2).
» Borja's second-round 68 (-4) tied her career low for the fifth time and was the third time in her last six rounds she has hit the tally.
» Monet Chun's 221 (72-76-73) tied her for 12th -- her third straight top-25 finish of the fall.
» Ashley Lau returned to the lineup after missing the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate, and Lauren Sung recorded her first career start.
Site: Highland Park, Ill.
Tournament: Windy City Collegiate Classic
Course: Exmoor Country Club (Par 72, 6,442 yards)
U-M Team Standing: 9th Place of 15 Teams (294-299-306/899)
Top U-M Individual: Hailey Borja, t-4th (73-68-77/218, +2)
Next U-M Event: Sat-Sun., Oct. 17-18 -- at Ruth's Chris Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. -- With a season-best tie for fourth place, senior Hailey Borja paced the 23rd-ranked University of Michigan women's golf team for a second straight week Tuesday (Oct. 4) guiding the Wolverines to an 899 54-hole total and ninth-place finish at Northwestern's Windy City Collegiate Classic played at the Exmoor Country Club.
"As a team, we played some impressive golf in rounds one and two," said U-M head coach Jan Dowling. "The team handled the fast greens and deep rough like the championship team they are. We didn't put all 54 holes together though, and that is what is required in such an elite field. These courses and fields test you, and it's exactly what we want. This will motivate us, both the great golf we showed as well as our round today."
Getting off to a solid start, junior Monet Chun's opening even-par 72 and Borja's 73 (+1) helped the Wolverines to their third lowest team tally at Northwestern's home event with 294. Heading into the day's second 18 positioned third, Borja caught fire. Using five birdies to card a career-low-tying 68 (-4), she vaulted herself into second place individually with her 141 (-3) total. With the Wolverines in the clubhouse, second-round play was eventually suspended due to darkness as half of the field still needed to finish.
Returning Tuesday morning, the Maize and Blue was able to add an hour to its warmup while the second 18 was completed. With the last scorecards in, U-M remained in the third spot as its second-round 299 yielded a 593 36-hole total.
Despite a two-under start from Chun on the front side of the final round, the Wolverines were unable maintain their top-three spot, the Maize and Blue turned at five-over and slid down the leaderboard. Even with Chun's final-round-best 73 (+1) and Borja's 77, Michigan closed with a 306. In one of its toughest challenges of the fall season -- with 10 of the 15 teams ranked in the top 25 -- U-M's 899 total spilled the Wolverines six spots and they posted a ninth-place finish.
For the second straight fall event, Borja paced the Wolverines. With her fourth-place finish, she carded back-to-back top-10 finishes after tying for seventh (207, -6) at last week's Mercedes-Benz Collegiate. Her second-round 68 (-4) was the third time in her last six rounds she carded a career-best-tying round. Borja, who had 10 birdies this weekend, continues to pace the Wolverines with a career-best 71.78 per-round average.
"Hailey's game rises to such occasions as these," add Dowling. "It says a lot about her game. It holds up under pressure and she has a wonderful imagination and touch around the greens. We are very proud of her, and she should be too."
Tying for 12th at 221 (72-76-73), Chun collected her third straight top-25 individual finish, while graduate student Ashley Lau returned to the lineup to tie for 42nd at 228 (75-75-78).
With two events remaining in the fall season, Michigan will not back down from competition for a fourth straight event as it heads to Chapel Hill, N.C., to play in the Ruth's Chris Invitational, Oct. 17-18, at the Governor's Club.
Final Team Standings
 1. USC             290-290-287 = 867 (+3)  2. South Carolina  293-299-284 = 876  3. Oregon          297-298-286 = 881  4. Arizona State   303-297-291 = 891    Duke            300-297-294 = 891  6. Texas           299-304-289 = 892  7. Virginia        302-299-297 = 898    Iowa State      305-300-293 = 898  9. MICHIGAN        294-299-306 = 899    Arizona         297-310-292 = 899 11. Purdue          306-301-297 = 904 12. Florida         305-303-297 = 905 13. Northwestern    306-303-297 = 906 14. Washington      299-318-303 = 920 15. Michigan State  320-302-300 = 922
Top Individuals
 1. Amari Avery, USC                  67-69-74 = 210 (-6)  2. Hannah Darling, South Carolina    71-72-68 = 211  3. Bentley Cotton, Texas             75-72-68 = 215  4. HAILEY BORJA, MICHIGAN            73-68-77 = 218    Anne Chen, Duke                   77-72-69 = 218    Momo Sugiyama, Purdue             75-74-69 = 218  7. Cindy Kou, USC                    72-75-72 = 219    Brittany Shin, Oregon             73-71-75 = 219    Ashleigh Park, Oregon             73-77-69 = 219 10. Louise Rydqvist, South Carolina   72-77-71 = 220    Mathilde Claisse, South Carolina  76-73-71 = 220
Other Michigan Individuals
T12. Monet Chun      72-76-73 = 221 T42. Ashley Lau      75-75-78 = 228 T60. Mikaela Schulz  74-80-79 = 233 T69. Lauren Sung     78-80-78 = 236
Players Mentioned
