The Kent State women’s golf team returned to competition with its third tournament of the spring season at the Briar’s Creek Invitational in John’s Island, S.C.
The Flashes tied for eighth out of 17 participating teams, shooting 14-over-par (590).
Due to inclement weather on Monday, the tournament was shortened to 36-holes. Competitors completed round one on Sunday and the second round on Tuesday.
“We played well the first round and did a good job of figuring out the course,” coach Casey VanDamme said. “The weather was not good down there, so it was a little awkward for the whole team to sit around and not be able to play the next round. When you take them out of the normal routine it’s tough, and I think we would have played well if we had one more round.”
Round one
The first round saw Kent State off to a great start Sunday.
Freshman Isabella Goyette led the Flashes, finishing the round in first place at six-under-par (66).
She sat at an even-par through her first nine holes before hitting five birdies and an eagle on the back-nine to complete her career-best round of 66.
“[Goyette] shot 66 and was leading the tournament. It was a new experience for her,” VanDamme said. “She was playing with some of the best in the world, and she learned a lot from it.”
Following Goyette, junior Leon Takagi and freshman Petra Babicova both sat tied for 20th at the end of the round, shooting one-over-par (73).
Babicova’s score, however, did not count for Kent State’s total, as she competed in the tournament as an individual.
As a team, the Flashes concluded round one in second place at one-over-par (289). They trailed an eight-under-par (280) Florida State by nine strokes heading into round two.
Round two
After a gap in competition, round two picked up on Tuesday.
Here, the Flashes lost some of the momentum from round one, shooting 13-over-par (301).
The highest individual finisher for Kent State was Babicova, who shot a one-under-par (71) round two to complete the tournament in 13th place at even-par (144). As an individual competitor, her score was not countable towards Kent State.
Goyette, the first countable score toward the Flashes, recorded an eight-over-par (80) during the second round, landing her at two-over-par (146) overall and tied for 24th place.
Takagi had the next countable score for KSU. She also landed within the top 30 overall – tied for 28th place at three-over-par (147) after shooting a two-over-par (74) during round two.
Altogether, the Flashes ended the tournament tied for eighth place, dropping six spots from round one, at 14-over-par (590).
Despite the inconsistencies between rounds, VanDamme said that the tournament was still a good step forward.
“There was some great learning that happened at the event,” VanDamme said. “We had four freshmen there, and I think they know now they can play with the top teams. We didn’t play particularly well, but we competed with all those teams, and we were right there, especially in the first round.”
Looking ahead
The next tournament of the Flashes’ spring season will continue in Tallahassee, Fla., Friday at the Florida State Match-Up.
VanDamme is excited to push forward, take on tough competition and see improvements.
“We were not satisfied this week. We can do better,” VanDamme said. “Everybody’s going to have a good individual plan of what they need to do to get ready for the next one where they’ll get to see Florida State again, and a lot of other really good teams. We’re looking forward to it.”
Kailyn Tibolla is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].