A strong start was not enough to clinch a victory for the ISU women’s golf team at the Windy City Collegiate Classic. Iowa State took fifth place at the classic, tying with Oklahoma State.

After day one and the first two rounds, the team was in third place. Iowa State fell to fifth after a weaker performance in the third round.

“We did not finish as strong; the last round was kind of rough,” said Prima Thammaraks.

The team finished with scores of 296 and 290 in rounds one and two. In round three, the score leapt to 305, bringing a total score of 891 for 54 holes.

“It was a long day. We finished in third after the second round; we just need to finish stronger,” said Punpaka Phuntumabamrung, who finished in fourth place individually.

The team came in to the Windy City Collegiate Classic with a first-place win under its belt after a strong finish in its first meet. The weaker finish in Golf, Ill., did not discourage the women’s golf team.

“Despite the last round, we did really well,” Thammaraks said.

Iowa State was competing against the No. 1 and 2 ranked teams in the nation, Texas Tech and Washington.

“The first and second round put us where we wanted to be: We went up against some of the best teams in the country,” Thammaraks said. “We just didn’t execute our game as well the last day.”

The team is already looking ahead to improving its game in the next meet, which will take place in Knoxville, Tenn.

“We should have time to work on [finishing stronger] before our next meet,” Phuntumabamrung said.

The Merecedes Benz Women’s Collegiate Classic will be held Oct. 12-14. The team hopes practice and preparation will make for a stronger finish in Knoxville than in Golf, Ill., and does not feel that a weak third round will be a reoccurring problem.

“It happens. We can learn from it and prepare from it — we won’t let it happen again,” Thammaraks said.