Indiana women’s golf resumed action with the spring half of its season, placing seventh at the Florida Atlantic Paradise Invitational on Feb. 2-4 at Osprey Point Golf Course in Boca Raton, Florida. The Hoosiers shot 12–over par over three rounds.
The event featured 90 golfers from 16 teams, six of which were ranked in Clippd’s top 50 as of Jan. 28, including the No. 36 Hoosiers. The field was fronted by the No. 24 University of Tennessee.
Day one in Florida saw zero teams earn a sub-par score for the round; the University of Kentucky led the way with an even par score. No. 61 sophomore Anastasia Hekkonen shot two strokes under par in the opening round.
Indiana finished the first round in a four-way tie for sixth place with a team score of 12 over par. No. 46 Hoosier senior Madison Dabagia shined in the back-nine, earning three birdies in the final five holes of the course to finish with a team-best score of 1 over par.
Tuesday’s round boasted an overall improvement from nearly every team, with seven squads scoring under par for the round. Kentucky continued its strong play in day two, shooting 4 under par as a team, but it was surpassed by Tennessee by the end of the second round. The Volunteers, led by a 7-under score from sophomore Kyra Van Kan, sported a 6-under-par score for the day, elevating themselves into first place. Clemson University and the University of Oklahoma were the day’s top performers, both scoring 8 under par.
The Hoosiers’ day two score of 4 over par was tied with Mercer University for fifth worst among the field of 16. The top four Hoosiers all scored 1 over par for the day, as Indiana fell to ninth place ahead of Wednesday’s final round. Freshman Saia Rampersaud led the Hoosiers in round two with five birdies but countered herself with four bogeys and a double bogey.
Following the third round on Wednesday, Tennessee prevailed over Kentucky with a round three score of 5–under par. The Wildcats scored a close 2-under but were unable to overcome the Volunteers. Van Kan finished the invitational atop the individual leaderboard, shooting 10 under par after three days. The six top-50 teams all finished in the top seven. The University of Georgia, an unranked team, finished fourth.
Indiana climbed two spots in the final round, playing its best golf Wednesday. The Hoosiers earned a score of 4–under par for round three and finished the event with a 12-over-par final score. Junior Katie Poots shot 4 under par in her final round by way of two birdies, an eagle and zero bogeys. This performance propelled Poots into an 11th place individual finish, earning a team best 1-under-par final score.
Indiana women’s golf will take nearly three weeks off from competition, before returning for the Chevron Collegiate on Feb. 23-24 in Humble, Texas.
