A rough first round may have doomed the Kansas State women’s golf team to a seventh-place finish when the Wildcats competed at the MountainView Collegiate in Saddlebrooke, Arizona, Friday through Sunday.
The tournament was hosted at the par-72 Preserve Golf Club in Saddlebrooke. The course measures 6,227 yards.
The Wildcats started off the competition with one of the worst first rounds in the tournament. They wound up 7-over-par at 295 in the first round.
Sophomore Niamh McSherry anchored K-State’s ballooning score with a 2-under 70 in the first round.
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“Niamh had a very good round of two under,” head coach Kristi Knight said to K-State Sports. “On the individual side, Darby [Deans] played well, shooting an even-par 72. I am very happy for her.”
In the second round, K-State began to recover. The Wildcats put together a 4-under 284. McSherry carded a 71, as did sophomore Reid Isaac. Sophomore Ella Adams led the team with a 3-under 69.
The Wildcats were tied for ninth place with Houston heading into the last day of the tournament.
While no one in the field could compete with tournament-winner Iowa State’s 20-under 268 in the third round, K-State managed to improve its position by two spots.
The Wildcats jumped to seventh place as a team behind a 1-under 287 in the third round.
Adams was the lone Wildcat below par, shooting a 2-under 70. McSherry and senior Chloe Weir each scored even-par in the third round.
In individual competition, McSherry finished in a tie for 10th place. She was 3-under-par for the tournament with 213 total strokes.
Adams finished tied for 21st in the tournament. She recovered from a 5-over first round to go even-par for the weekend.
Weir finished tied for 28th at 2-over 218, and Isaac finished just one stroke behind her, tied for 33rd. Sophomore Darby Deans and freshmen Briony Bayles and Heather Fortushniak finished 52nd, 66th and 68th, respectively.
K-State will head to Argyle, Texas, on April 1 and 2 to play in the Bruzzy Challenge hosted by North Texas.
