Four Huskies finished in the top-10 as the Northern Illinois University women’s golf team claimed second-place at the Pinetree Intercollegiate, hosted by Kennesaw State, at Pinetree Country Club. The 54-hole tournament was reduced to 36 holes as weather delays eventually led to the cancellation of Tuesday’s (March 26) final round.
The Huskies recorded a team total of 604, just one stroke behind Charleston Southern’s winning score of 603.
Jasmine Ly (Windsor, Ontario/Holy Names) and Caroline Kent (Frisco, Texas/iUniversity Prep) each carded 36-hole totals of 150 to tie for fifth while Sydney Naro (Toronto, Ontario/Hills International Golf Academy) and Emily Romancew (Pierrefonds, Quebec/Ecole Secondaire Des Sources) each tied for 10th at 152.
“We had a hot start yesterday and to finish second is a positive, given that we were second-to-last in the rankings (among the field) heading into the tournament,” said NIU head coach Kim Kester. “You obviously want to play the tournament as it is scheduled, the full 54 holes, but we had an idea last night that today’s round could be canceled, or it would be a long day of going on and off the course.
“It is great to get that consistency from the top-four in our lineup. Caroline (Kent) has really stepped up the last few weeks, which has been great to see. We would love to get a complete five going but having at least four is a good feeling.”
Kent posted NIU’s best round of the tournament with an even par 72 in the second round, which included four birdies. Ly tallied three birdies in her second round as he turned in a plus-two 74 after opening with 76.
Naro bounced back from an opening round 79 to post a second round 73, recording 15 pars on her second 18 holes of the tournament, while Romancew, coming off a medalist performance at the NAU Red Rocks Invitational, tied Naro with rounds of 77 and 75.
As a team, NIU recorded 103 pars, second-most in the tournament, and finished second in scoring average on the par 5s at 5.08. Kent played the par 5s in three under for the tournament’s 36 holes.
“Yesterday you had to get used to playing in the high winds, which is something we deal with a lot at home,” said Kester. “It was steady winds of 10-20 miles per hour, with gusts bigger than that. Those conditions made it a mental grind and we kept telling the team that pars are your best friend in these conditions.”
NIU will return to action on Monday and Tuesday, April 1-2, when the Huskies travel to Eastern Kentucky’s Colonel Classic at the University Club at Arlington in Richmond, Ky.
Huskie Scores
T5 | Jasmine Ly | 76-74 = 150 (+6)
T5 | Caroline Kent | 78-72 = 150 (+6)
T10 | Sydney Naro | 79-73 = 152 (+8)
T10 | Emily Romancew | 77-75 = 152 (+8)
55 | Eva Nijenhuis | 82-80 = 172 (+30)
Individual
T58 | Karen Liu | 92-82 = 174 (+28)
NIU Team Score: 310-294 = 604 (+28)