The Kent State women’s golf team had its best finish of the spring at the Therese Hession Buckeye Invitational Sunday, where it placed third out of 13 teams.
The Flashes shot 16-over-par, just three strokes behind second place Michigan State. Tournament host, Ohio State, won the event at two-over-par.
This was the Flashes’ final meet ahead of the Mid-American Conference Championship.
Coach Casey VanDamme said it was a successful tournament that left the team in a good position.
“It was a great tournament, and we had some players in contention, which was really good to see,” VanDamme said. “I’m happy, too, because it’s a really hard course, so it was good for our young players to get to see that course and the set up. Overall, we saw good things all around.”
Day one
Rounds one and two of the tournament were held back-to-back on Saturday.
Junior Leon Takagi and sophomore Veronika Kedronova led the Flashes, both sitting tied for second through day one at three-under-par.
Takagi opened the day one-under-par (71) preceding a two-under-par (70) second round.
Kedronova shot one-over-par (73) in round one before posting an impressive four-under-par (68) in the second round.
“It was good to see Takagi in contention again, and Kedronova played incredibly,” VanDamme said. “She took second in her second round, shooting a bogey-free four-under. It’s hard to have a bogey-free round in general, so that really stood out.”
Freshmen Aryn Matthews and Gracie Larsen also landed in the top 25.
Matthews sat tied for 16th at nine-over-par. She shot four-over-par (76) in round one, and five-over-par (77) in round two.
Larsen concluded day one tied for 25th at 12-over-par after a nine-over-par (81) round one and a three-over-par (75) round two.
After 36 holes of golf, Kent State finished the day 15-over-par to sit in second place.
The team trailed OSU, who finished the day nine-over-par.
Day two
The final round of the tournament was held on Sunday.
The Flashes recorded their best round of the tournament on day two at one-over-par (298) to finish third overall at 16-over-par.
They fell just short of second place Michigan State, who pulled ahead after posting a three-under-par round three to finish at 13-over-par.
Nevertheless, Kedronova maintained her position, finishing second at five-under-par after a two-under-par (70) in round three.
Larsen posted KSU’s next-best score of the day at one-under-par (71). This boosted her final score to 11-over-par and a tied 14th-place finish.
Round three was more challenging for Takagi, as she recorded a seven-over-par (79). Still, she recorded her best 54-hole score of the season at four-over-par and tied for seventh place.
Matthews shot one-over-par (73) in the third round, allowing her to climb to a tied 12th-place finish at 10-over-par.
“Matthews and Larsen both had good comeback rounds on day two, giving us a chance to compete,” VanDamme said. “We closed the lead to one shot after seven or eight holes, and they were a big part of that.”
Collectively, Matthews and Larsen rose 15 places from day one to the end of day two.
“It was nice to see them rebound after a little bit of a struggle in the first 18,” VanDamme said.
Looking ahead
The Flashes will close out their season at the MAC Championships Sunday in Muncie, Indiana.
They are looking to defend the title, having won 25 times in program history and remain the only team to hoist the trophy.
VanDamme said the team has to polish up a few small parts of their game, then they’ll be ready to compete.
“We’re figuring out who will be playing in the lineup, and trying to get ready for what we know about the golf course,” VanDamme said. “We haven’t been to this course before, but we have a couple days to practice, so we’re touching on a few mental things and some other quick things to clean up our short games. Then we’ll go out and compete.”
Kailyn Tibolla is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].