Albuquerque, N.M. -- University of Iowa senior Jessica Ip carded a three-under par 69 in Tuesday’s final round to tie for fifth overall at the Branch Law Firm Invitational. The Hawkeyes tied for seventh (879; +15, 292, 290, 297) in a stacked 17-team field.
All six teams that finished ahead of Iowa are currently ranked in the top 35 of the Golfstat Relative Rankings. No. 19 Oklahoma State took the team title (863; -1), while No. 8 Northwestern (865; +1) took second, and No. 21 Colorado and No. 1 Stanford tied for third (869; +5).
The Hawkeyes finished ahead of four top-50 teams, including No. 18 Texas (10th), No. 49 UNLV (T-11th), No. 16 Arizona (T-11th), and No. 39 Pepperdine (13th).
IP’S UNDER PAR EFFORT
Ip made par or better on 17 holes in the third round en route to a three-under-par 69 -- one stroke shy of tying a career low. The Richmond Hill, Ontario, native finished with a three-round total of 214 (-2; 72, 73, 69) to tie for fifth. It marked the fourth top-five finish of her career.
RENNEGARBE’S CAREER PERFORMANCE
Shawn Rennegarbe carded an even-par 72 in the third round. The junior tied for 33rd overall with a three-round total of 221 (+5) -- the best finish of her Hawkeye career. Rennegarbe also registered career-lows for 18-holes (72), 36-holes (149), and 54-holes (221).
IOWA SCORECARD
T-7.
Iowa
292
290
297
+15
879
T-5.
Jessica Ip
72
73
69
-2
214
T-33.
Shawn Rennegarbe
72
77
72
+5
221
T-39.
Elisa Suarez
75
71
76
+6
222
T-44.
Kristin Glesne
73
70
80
+7
212
T-83.
Morgan Kukla
77
76
80
+17
233
QUOTING COACH MENZEL
“This was a great start to our season. The team competed well and held their own in a very strong field. We have a quick turnaround and we are looking forward to taking some good momentum into Tennessee next week.
“Jessica had a really consistent week. It was great to see her open her senior season with a top-5 finish.”
QUOTING IP
“I felt confident with my ball striking, so I took advantage of the elevation and the open fairways and gave myself opportunities with my wedges to make some birdies. I felt good with my putter, so when I had lag putts, I believed in my green reading for my short putts. I didn’t make many birdies yesterday, but I knew that today I could give myself many opportunities and trust that I’ve been practicing the right things.”
NEXT TOURNAMENT
The Hawkeyes travel to Knoxville, Tennessee, for the Mercedes Benz Women’s Collegiate Championship on Sept. 18-19.