HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. - The UNCW women's golf team combined for a 310 in the final round and claimed ninth place in the Windy City Collegiate Classic Tuesday at the  Northmoor Country Club.

The Seahawks wrapped up the event with a 54-hole total of 938 (315-313-310), finishing five shots ahead of in-state rival UNC Greensboro.

 "I felt that we putted much better as a team as a team during the final round," said UNCW Head Coach Cindy Ho. "We got off to a slow start today and had to battle back on the back nine, which I thought we were able to do. I saw some good things this week and I believe we are taking steps in the right direction. We need to keep improving and get ready for our next appearance at the ECU Lady Pirate Intercollegiate."

Purdue led wire-to-wire to capture its third straight Windy City Collegiate Classic title as the Boilermakers posted a 24-over-par result of 876 (290-293-293), seven shots in front of second place Iowa State (298-297-298=883). Texas Tech claimed third place as the Red Raiders were 15 strokes behind the champion Boilermakers with a tournament scorecard of 891 (299-296-296).

Junior Sofia Hagsund carded a five-over-par 76 Tuesday to finish in a tie for 23rd with a 54-hole score of 230 (80-74-76). Freshman Whitney Rhodes also posted a five-over-par 76 in the final round to claim a share of 44th place with a 237 (81-80-76) tournament result. Freshman Lori Beth Adams (78-82-79=239) and junior Alei Mitchell (88-77-85=250) finished in 47th and 55^th place, respectively, while freshman Laverry Kumar posted a 79 in the final round after being disqualified from the individual competition on Monday.

"I was glad to see Whitney have a good showing today," said Ho. "She was able to bounce back after a tough two rounds Monday and found a way to contribute. Sofia was fairly consistent as always, but was unable to get a low round in like she is able to post in most events she has played in during her UNCW career."

Purdue's Numa Gulyanamitta fired a one-under-par 70 in the final round to claim individual medalist honors as she finished with a two-over-par result of 215 (72-73-70). TCU's Brooke Beeler (71-74-72=217) and Iowa State's Prima Thammaraks (74-68-75=217) both finished two shots back of Gulyanamitta in tie for second at four-over-par.

UNCW returns to competition Oct. 11-12 at the ECU Lady Pirate Intercollegiate at the Greenville Golf Course in Greenville, N.C.