Houston women’s golf completed the Illini Invitational with a second-place finish.

While they could not capture back-to-back first-place finishes, second marks the Cougars’ third consecutive top-three placement this season.

Consisting of 15 teams and, spanning three rounds, the two-day tournament at Medinah Country Club in Medinah, Illinos was closely contested throughout. 

Following the first round, Houston trailed Ole Miss by only two strokes and sat comfortably in second place, leading Auburn by five strokes.

Sophomore Maelynn Kim finished 4 under par in round one, putting her in a three-way tie for second among all contestants.

Two other Cougars, junior Alexa Saldana, and freshman Annika Ishiyama posted 2-under-par first rounds, which helped propel Houston to second. 

The second round saw Houston leapfrog Ole Miss and take sole possession of first, behind a 13-under-par performance.

Although UCLA and UCF had slightly better rounds of 15 and 14-under par respectively, UH’s first round was the difference-maker in the standings.

Three Cougars led the way in round two, as Saldana, Ishiyama, and junior Moa Svedenskiold all finished 4-under par. Kim also had a second consecutive under-par round, finishing 1-under par.

Houston’s one-stroke lead after day one wasn’t enough to deter a charge from Ole Miss, who put up an 11-under-par final round. 

Junior Natalie Saint Germain bounced back from Monday in resurgent fashion, finishing 3-under par and leading all Cougars.

Saldana went 2-under-par and Ishiyama went 1-under-par in round three. The pair were the only Cougars to go under par in all three rounds.

Saldana’s score of 208 placed her in a tie for seventh overall, just five strokes shy of the lead. Ishiyama also landed in the top 10, with a score of 209.

Kim still finished in the top 15 despite dropping three spots from round two, and Svedenskiold held firm in 17th. Saint Germain soared from 39th to 29th on the leaderboard after her impressive round three.

Houston and Ole Miss were the only programs with four women finishing in the top 20.

UH will next compete in the Jim West Challenge, on Oct. 20-21 in San Marcos, Texas. 

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