Indiana women’s golf was unable to continue its steak of top-5 finish at its regular season finale, mustering a sixth-place tie at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational.
The tournament, which took place Friday and Saturday, was held at Ohio State University Golf Club in Columbus, Ohio.
The Hoosiers shot 47 over par after three rounds for a final score of 911 strokes.
Among the 14 teams participating in Columbus, six were ranked in the top 50 of clippd’s recent rankings. Iowa State University entered the tournament as the highest ranked team, slotted No. 25 nationally. Indiana began play ranked No. 43.
No. 28 Northwestern, No. 36 Ohio State, No. 40 Michigan State and unranked Rutgers represented the Big Ten alongside Indiana in the 14-team tournament.
The Hoosiers, supported by a 1-over-par score of 73 by junior Katie Poots, shot a combined 9-over-par 297 in round one. The combined effort put Indiana in second place after the opening round, just two strokes behind Ohio State, the host of the event.
Poots’ first round featured six bogeys, eight pars, three birdies and an eagle. She was the only Hoosier with an eagle in the round and the only one with more than two birdies.
Ohio State sophomore Nellie Ong was the only golfer to shoot under par in the first round, boasting a 3-under-par 69 as her team enjoyed the early lead.
However, Indiana could not build on its hot start and dropped to fourth place after the second round. The Hoosiers shot 16 over par for a team score of 304, which was the sixth best of the round.
Redshirt junior Sheridan Clancy produced Indiana’s best score of Friday’s second round, a 3-over-par 75. Her scorecard of six bogeys, nine pars and three birdies was the lone Hoosier scorecard without a double bogey in round two.
The Buckeyes maintained their lead through the second round, shooting 6 over par for a 294-stroke score, which tied for second best of the round. Ong’s dominance continued with a 2-under-par 70, which was tied for the best of the round.
Kent State University made the most noise in Friday’s later round, producing a 2-over-par score of 290 to propel the Golden Flashes into second place.
Kent State sophomore Isabella Goyette joined Ong and Harvard University sophomore Vanessa Zhang atop the round’s leaderboard with matching 2-under-par scores, which were the round’s only scores below par.
The Hoosiers’ slippage continued in round three, earning a disappointing 22-over-par score of 310. The poor round dropped them to a sixth-place tie with Harvard at a 47-over-par final score of 911.
Indiana senior Madison Dabagia played her best golf Saturday, garnering four birdies while shooting just 1 over par for a score of 73 strokes. This final round effort catapulted Dabagia into a tie for 11th place individually with a final score of 225, 9 over par.
Clancy’s 3-over-par round three score of 75 was enough to keep her afloat as she ended the tournament tied for ninth place individually with the Hoosiers’ best score, an 8-over-par 224.
Ong was unable to hold on to her lead as her 4-over-par final round allowed Xavier University senior Madison Reemsnyder to overtake Ong for the individual title. Ong’s final scorecard was dampened by six bogeys and just two birdies.
Ong’s third round score of 76 could not graze the top 10 of the round. Her final score of 215 was two strokes behind Reemsnyder, who shot a 4-under-par 68 with five birdies and a single bogey Saturday.
Despite Ong’s struggles, Ohio State cruised in Saturday’s round with a 13-over-par team score of 301, which secured the home course victory for the Buckeyes, their second team win of the season.
Michigan State, Northwestern and Rutgers finished fourth, eighth and ninth, respectively.
Indiana will begin the postseason with the Big Ten Championships from April 21-26 at Oakmont Golf Club in Glendale, California.
