Coming off of a difficult start to its season last month, the No. 55 ISU women’s golf team turned a new page at the Windy City Collegiate Classic.

Led by Nattapan “New” Siritrai, the Cyclones posted a 24-over-par total of 888 (297+298+293) to finish in third place out of 15 teams, four of which are ranked in the top 10 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.

Siritrai, a freshman from Bangkok, Thailand, bounced back from a 73rd-place finish at the Dick McGuire/Branch Law Firm Invitational three weeks ago with a third-place finish this week.

“New played so well, she grinded and had so many up-and-downs [for pars],” said ISU coach Christie Martens. “She was disappointed in how she played in New Mexico and I feel like this was more of what she is capable of.”

Aided by her ability to hole crucial putts, Siritrai placed inside the top-10 in par-3, par-4 and par-5 scoring. With consistent rounds of 72, 72 and 71, Siritrai posted three rounds of par or better and never made a double bogie or worse.

Her teammate and fellow Thai, senior Chonlada Chayanun said her confidence and mentality were much improved from New Mexico.

“She had a lot of confidence this week,” said Chayanun, who finished second on the team by finishing tied for 23rd place. “[Assistant coach Pina Gentile] walked with her the entire round, which seemed to help, too. Her mentality seemed to be a lot better.”

From watching her play, Chayanun said Siritrai has the talent to be successful, but her mentality will dictate how far she can go.

“Her swing and her golf game are good and if she has a good mentality, everything is good,” Chayanun said. “I’ve definitely been talking to her about that instead of fixing her swing because she already has a good one.”

Along with Siritrai’s breakthrough success, Martens was also pleased with her team’s overall effort against a strong field, especially after her team’s finish near the bottom of the pack three weeks ago in New Mexico.

“They played really well, I’m really proud of the preparation that they’ve done for the past week,” Martens said. “I think it’s really paying off, so I’m really proud of how they played.”

Martens also said her team’s ability to finish off each round was crucial to its success. The Cyclones posted a four-over-par total of 292 in the final round, the second-best mark in the field.

Its one-under-par finish in the closing three holes was the best mark of the field in that statistic and was essential in making a late climb up the leaderboard.

“Our team really closed well, and that’s something our team has done and been known for the past couple years,” Martens said. “We might not have the best start, but we do a really great job of closing, and that’s something I was really proud of today, especially.”