No. 10 Vanderbilt Women’s Golf returned to action at the Puerto Rico Classic to begin its spring season from Feb. 1-2. The Commodores finished in a tie for second in the 18-team field, led by Angelina Tolentino, who finished in a tie for eighth place individually. There were six other top-30 ranked teams in the field, including No. 4 Arkansas and No. 14 North Carolina, both of which will likely be in contention for a conference title in a few months.  

The tournament was conducted over two days, with 36 holes being played on Day 1 and 18 holes being played on Day 2. Ava Merrill, Elizabeth Rudisill, Tillie Claggett, Sara Im and Tolentino rounded out Vanderbilt’s starting five. Lynn Lim also competed as an independent, meaning her scores did not count towards the team’s totals.  

A less than stellar first 18 holes put the ‘Dores behind the eight ball from the beginning of the event, but a stellar final 36 holes pushed them towards a podium finish. 

Day 1 

Perhaps it was cold weather in the offseason, but Vanderbilt came out of the gates slow. A sloppy first 18 holes pushed Vanderbilt far down the leaderboard, as the team combined for a round of even-par. Tolentino and Merrill were able to push into red figures, shooting 70 and 71, respectively, at the par-72 Grand Reserve Golf Club. Rudisill and Claggett rounded out the counting scores with a 73 and 74, respectively, but this slow start created a large mountain to climb in the remaining 36 holes. 

“The start was a little slower for us than I thought it might be,” head coach Greg Allen said. “We definitely looked rusty, and we weren’t very sharp around the greens in the first round.” 

Later in the afternoon, Vanderbilt kicked off its second round, looking for any semblance of positive momentum. Luckily for the Commodores, they quickly found their groove, shooting a collective round of 8-under 280. Rudisill led the charge in the second round, firing off a 6-under 66 with an impressive eight birdies to push Vanderbilt up the leaderboard. Claggett followed quickly behind with a round of 69, which included three birdies and no bogeys on her back nine.  

“Thanks to [Rudisill] and Tillie [Claggett], they helped us make a move in the second round,” Allen said. 

Merrill and Im rounded out the counting scores with rounds of 72 and 73, respectively, to mark an incredibly successful second 18 holes. The Commodores sat in eighth place following the first day of play. 

Day 2 

The Commodores kept up their momentum from the second round into the third, charging up the leaderboard into second place after firing a final round of 9-under 279 to finish the event at 17-under-par.  

“I’m very thankful we got to play this last round today, because after that second round yesterday, I felt like this team was capable of more,” Allen said after the event. “The [women] definitely proved that today.” 

Tolentino led the team in scoring on Day 2, firing a final round 67 en route to her eighth-place finish. A lone bogey on the day was the only blemish on the scorecard. Merrill and Claggett both shot rounds of 69 and 70, respectively, pushing them into the top 15 individually.  

Im and Rudisill both finished over par in the last round, shooting 73 and 74, respectively, to round out Vanderbilt’s scores for the day. Rudisill was still able to pull out a top-15 finish in the event, despite her last over-par round.  

“I’m really proud of the team effort we played with this week and excited to see what this team can do as we keep moving forward,” Allen said.  

Vanderbilt will compete next at the Alice and John Wallace Classic in Palm Desert, California, from Feb. 14-16.