Indiana women’s golf finished 13th out of 14 teams at the Lady Buckeye Invitational at the Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, from April 15-16.
The Hoosiers came out to a surprisingly fast start in their final regular- season match of the season, ending round one in 13th with a score of 294 (+6), but within striking distance of the top 10. However, the second round wasn’t as kind to IU as it scored a 305 (+17), which distanced itself from the other teams in the pack.
“We stressed getting off to a good start in practice,” head coach Brian May said Tuesday. “I was happy with the way we started, but the focus started to go down afterwards.”
Going into the final round on day two, the Hoosiers knew that they weren’t going to finish in last place as Rutgers did not compete in round three. The final round saw IU improve by a single stroke from the second, scoring 304 (+16), to finish the tournament in 13th with a total score of 903 (+39).
The 14-team field included 13 Big Ten teams with No. 40 Kent State University being the only out of conference opponent. Alongside Kent State, five other top 50 teams competed in the tournament: No. 44 Michigan, No. 46 Purdue, No. 33 Maryland, No. 34 Michigan State, and the hosts No. 25 Ohio State, who won the tournament with an 854 (-10).
“It was a tough field, but we weren’t intimidated,” May explained. “We just wanted to go out there and play our game.”
Senior transfer Alexis Florio, in her return to the team after sitting out the last outing with muscle tightness, led the Hoosiers with a score of 216 (E), which tied for 12th. Florio finished round one with an impressive score of 68 (-4), which was fifth in the field.
Senior Valerie Clancy was next for IU with a score of 225 (+9), which tied for 41st. Junior Dominika Burdova and sophomore Margaret Fernandez finished tied for 61st with a score of 232 (+16).
The Hoosiers were rounded out by sophomore Beatriz Junqueira who finished tied for 73rd with a score of 235 (+19), and senior Hanna Tanaka who finished tied for 81st with a score of 242 (+26).
IU has now finished its regular season ranked as the 129th team in the nation and will next compete in the Big Ten Tournament at the Fox Chapel Golf Course in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from April 21-23.
