Gophers Tie for 9th at Indiana; Huskers' Smith Gets T8

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- There were six scores under 70 shot at Indiana's Pfau Course over the weekend in the 16-team Indiana Invitational. Kent State produced three of them, all in the second round. And that was the difference in the team competition, as the Golden Flashes beat the field by eight strokes in Round 2 and then pretty much played their challengers to a draw in Round 3.

The result was 10 stroke victory. Kent State followed its four-player, second-round aggregate of 279 (9 under par) with a valedictory 287, which gave the Flashes an overall 856. Maryland finished second, 10 behind at 866.

The chase for the individual title was considerably closer. Emily Price, a junior from Ludlow, England, who shot a 5-under second round of 67, made nine straight pars on the front side Sunday, then made three birdies, three pars and three bogeys on the back, all of which worked out to an even-par 72 and a 54-hole total of 212 (4 under). That put her in a three-way tie for first place, along with Valery Plata of Michigan State and Ashley Lau of Michigan.

Lau, like Price, made three birdies on the back side Sunday. But she made no bogeys on the inward nine and shot the low score of the final round, a 68. Plata also produced a three-birdie, no-bogey back nine and closed with a 70 on her way to 212.

No one else was any closer than three strokes. Irene Kim of Northwestern and Tristyn Nowlin of Illinois tied for fourth at 215. Kim was the only other player besides Lau to break 70 on Sunday, with a 69.

Kate Smith, the former five-time Minnesota state high school champion from Detroit Lakes who is now a senior at Nebraska, followed a pair of 72's with a 73, and the resulting 217 put her in a tie for eighth. The Nebraska team tied for sixth at 887. Smith got her first college victory just over a month ago, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and is currently ranked No. 34 in Women's NCAA Division I golf.

Minnesota tied Purdue for ninth with an overall total of 902. Annabelle Ackroyd, a sophomore from Calgary, Alberta, was the Gophers' highest finishing individual. She sandwiched a 72 between to 75 to finish at 222, good for a tie for 21st. Grace Curran, a sophomore from New Lenox, Ill. -- and the 2020 MGA Women's Match Play champion -- won the award for consistency, shooting three 75's in a row. Her total of 225 was worth a tie for 32nd. 

All 14 Big Ten teams were in Bloomington over the weekend (the Gophers beat five of them, in addition to tying Purdiue), and they will all get together again this coming weekend for the Big Ten Conference championships, Friday through Sunday, at the TPC River's Bend Golf Course in Mainesville, Ohio. 
  


WOMEN'S COLLEGE GOLF

Indiana Invitational

At Pfau Course
 
Par 72, 6,254 yards

Bloomington, Ind. 

Final results 

1. Kent State                          290-279-287--856

2. Maryland                            291-287-288--866

3. Michigan State                  292-293-285--870

4. Michigan                            292-294-291--877

5. Northwestern                     296-300-287--883

T6. Nebraska                        294-298-295--887

T6. Illinois                              292-301-294--887

8. Purdue                              307-295-290--892

T9. Minnesota                       304-299-299--902

T9. Pen State                        302-304-296--902

T11. Wisconsin                     302-310-292--904

T11. Ohio State                     304-303-297--904

13. Xavier                             299-310-299--908

14. Iowa                                307-304-306--917

15. Indiana                            313-313-302--928

16. Rutgers                           315-306-314--935

Individuals 

T1. Ashley Lau, Michigan             73-71-68--212

T1. Valery Plata, Michigan State   69-73-70--212

T1. Emily Price, Kent State           73-67-72--212

T4. Irene Kim, Northwestern          73-73-69--215

T4. Tristyn Nowlin, Illinois              71-71-71--215

T6. Chloe Salort, Kent State          72-74-70--216

T6. Sifat Sagoo, Purdue                75-70-71--216

T8. Kate Smith, Nebraska           72-72-73--217

T8. Sifat Sagoo, Purdue                75-70-71--216

T8. Kan Bunnabodee, Purdue       74-73-70--217

T8. Kory Nielsen, Kent State          75-73-70--218

T21. Annabelle Ackroyd, Minn.   75-72-75--222

T32. Grace Curran, Minnesota    75-75-75--225

T48. Emma Carpenter, Minn.       80-76-73--229

T53. Joanne Free, Minnesota      76-77-78--231

T65. Grace Kellar, Minnesota      79-78-76--233

T76. Jessica Lee, Minnesota       78-76-82--236