Coming off a sixth-place finish at the Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, the Kent State women’s golf team looks to move forward to compete in the Mid-American Conference Championships.

“I think anytime you play in a tournament like [the Lady Buckeye Invitational], if you can finish in the top five, it would have been a really solid week,” associate head coach Rob Wakeling said. “We were really close there. It is a good step forward to get ready for Mid-American Conference Championships next week. [The team] did a lot of good things. It’s a tough course, and the conditions were very tough.”

The championship tournament begins today and runs through Sunday, and will take place at the Longaberger Golf Course in Nashport, Ohio. This year, the Flashes look to capture their 15th consecutive MAC title.

“The [Lady Buckeye Invitational] was actually great preparation for the [Mid-American Conference Championships],” assistant coach Maddi Swaney said. “We hadn’t played in over three weeks, so getting our competitive spirits back up and playing the Scarlet course was a great test of golf to prepare us for the MAC.”

The team is set to compete against conference opponents Akron, Bowling Green, Ball State, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan. Competing in the invitational are Jennifer Ha, Erin Hawe, Josee Doyon, Natalie Goodson, Tess Fraser and Brynn Schumacher. Senior Jackie Yanch will sit out the tournament due to injury.

Ha competed well at the Lady Buckeye Invitational, placing herself third in the individual rankings. She shot a 76 on the first 18 holes and ended the first day individually ranked in fourth place with a 73 and a birdie on hole No. 9 after the second round of the tournament.

In addition to Ha, Hawe and Doyon also finished in the top 20 after two rounds. Hawe shot 77 during both rounds, while Doyon shot 78 and 77, respectively.

Wakeling said he believes the team has what it takes to once again secure their title as MAC Champions.

“We’re going to go back and work on some of the girls’ weaknesses, some of the things they struggled with this week,” Wakeling said. “I think we know Longaberger Golf Course pretty well. Both the men’s and the women’s team have won MAC Championships there in the last four or five years. So I think we know the course well, and I think we know what to practice to get ready for it.”

Contact Lily Flynn at [email protected].