Caitlin McCleary (The Dalles, Ore.) won her third tournament of the 2011-12 season, and the Seattle University women's golf team finished second in a 20-team field as the Red Rocks Invitational, hosted by Northern Arizona University, concluded Sunday at Oak Creek Country Club.
McCleary shot 75 (+3) in the second round to finish the tournament with a two-round total of 147 (+3), three strokes ahead of Meredith Fairbairn of Eastern Michigan and Dana Zamprelli of Wyoming. The senior has found herself on top of a large field for the second time this year, previously winning the 22-team Circling Raven Invitational in September, plus she also was the medalist at the Firestone Grill College Invitational in October.
Nicole Gaddie (Salt Lake City, Utah) shot 78 (+6) in the second round to end the tournament in a tie for 14th place with a final score of 154 (+10). Lori Pearson (Seattle, Wash.) moved up the standings into a tie for 21st place after a second-round 76 (+4) gave her a final score of 156 (+12).
Christine Cook (Yakima, Wash.) also improved her position in the individual standings, shooting 79 (+7) in the second round for a two-round total of 160 (+16) to finish in a tie for 33rd place. Shannon Quinn (Shoreline, Wash.) ended the weekend in a tie for 71st place with a cumulative total of 168 (+24) after shooting 85 (+13) in the second round.
Seattle U posted a cumulative score of 308 (+20) in the second round to maintain its second-place position with a final total of 617 (+41), two strokes ahead of Xavier. Eastern Michigan, one of the top teams in the Mid-American Conference and ranked 75th in the Golfstat head-to-head rankings, shot the only team round under 300 during the weekend, posting a score of 298 (+10) to win the tournament by 14 strokes.
Seattle University will next compete at the 13-team Anuenue Spring Break Classic, hosted by the University of Hawaii at the Kapalua Bay Course in Kapalua, Maui, March 26-27. The Redhawks will be competing against Pac-12 schools California, Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State, SEC members Mississippi and Tennessee, current West Coast Conference foe Pepperdine, and future Western Athletic Conference rival Texas-San Antonio.