The Kent State women’s golf team competed in the Florida State Match Up in Tallahassee, Fla., over the weekend, where it placed fourth.

The Flashes shot 31-over-par (895) to beat out nine of the 13 participating teams. 

This was KSU’s best finish of the spring season thus far. Coach Casey VanDamme said it highlighted how the team is continuing to grow. 

“We played better for longer periods of time,” VanDamme said. “There were rough starts a couple of days, but besides that, the ladies fought hard on a really difficult golf course and had some positive steps forward.”

VanDamme said the undulating greens and Bermudagrass on the course proved challenging but were a good learning experience.

“There was a different type of grass than we’re used to on this course and very undulating greens,” VanDamme said. “We struggled with chipping off the grass, but we have a very young team, and this gave us good experience with it, so I think it’ll serve us well going into the future with the variety of conditions we play in.”

Round one

The Flashes concluded the first round of the tournament in 10th place after shooting 19-over-par (307).

The best Kent State scores of the day were recorded by sophomore Veronika Kedronova, freshman Gracie Larsen and junior Leon Takagi. All three shot four-over-par (76) tying for 25th place at the end of round one.

Freshman Isabella Goyette posted the next-best score for the Flashes at seven-over-par (79) to conclude day one tied for 47th place. 

Round two

An impressive second round of four-over-par (291) bumped Kent State to fourth place in the team standings by the end of day two.

Kendronova, Larsen and Takagi also improved individually, all sitting within the top 15.

After a three-under-par (69) round two, Kendronova bettered her overall score to one-over-par, tying for third.

Larsen and Takagi stayed in sync during round two, both firing an even-par (72) and tying for 15th place at four-over-par after 36 holes.

“We played a lot better and moved up a few spots in the second round,” VanDamme said. “We also had one of the best rounds of the day out of all of the teams, so there were good improvements.” 

Goyette, the final countable score toward Kent State, stayed tied for 47th at 13-over-par after a six-over-par (78) round two. 

Round three

The Flashes remained steady during their final round. 

Kendronova posted the best score of the tournament for Kent State. She shot two-over-par (74) in the third round, culminating in a final score of three-over-par and a tied fifth-place finish.

“Kendronova took fifth place. She played well which was great,” VanDamme said. “Last tournament, she didn’t play her best, so she did a nice job of hanging in there and playing well with all of her best skills. She had some challenging situations but did a good job of handling them.”

The best round of the day for the Flashes went to Goyette, who fired an even-par (72) in the final 18 holes to finish 13-over-par and tied for 32nd place.

Takagi stayed within the top 20, placing 17th at eight-over-par after a four-over-par (76) third round.

Larsen had a tough final day, shooting 10-over-par (82). Still, the freshman hung within the top 50, placing 34th at 14-over-par.

VanDamme said the team struggled to get off to a good start during the final round but ultimately finished strong.

“We just started poorly the last day,” VanDamme said. “ They came back to finish pretty strong, and Goyette also had a nice final round. They did well.”

Looking ahead

The Flashes are heading back to Ohio to compete in its final tournament of the regular season at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational. 

VanDamme is excited to compete closer to home turf.

“We get to play in Ohio at this event, so it’ll be good to compete close to home,” VanDamme said. “We’re used to the type of grass and the conditions. The course is challenging, but we are familiar with it, and obviously the weather is usually pretty similar, so we’re looking forward to it.”

The tournament begins April 12 at Ohio State’s home course in Columbus, giving the Flashes a few weeks to prepare.

“All of the individuals have different things that they’re going to be focusing on over the next couple weeks,” VanDamme said. “There’s been some good progress, while some things still need work, but they’re working hard and putting in the time, so we’ll be ready for the next event.”

Kailyn Tibolla is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].