Women’s golf takes fifth place in IU Fall Invitational

The IU women’s golf team struggled to prevail in the final round of last week’s Lady Northern Invitational, pushing it down the leaderboard.

The team knew what was needed heading into Tuesday of the IU Fall Invitational: a strong mindset in the last 18 holes.

“After Monday’s rounds, that was one of the things we addressed with the team,” IU Coach Clint Wallman said. “We played our last three or four holes 10-over-par and needed to focus on getting through those last 18 holes.”

After posting 317-307 Monday, the Hoosiers dropped strokes in the final round to finish at 302, totaling 926 for the tournament. IU placed fifth, 14 strokes behind first-place Eastern Michigan and two strokes behind fourth-place Nebraska.

Senior co-captain Kristtini Cain led the Hoosiers with a 226 tournament total, finishing tied for sixth. She tallied four birdies in the final round to keep her at one-over-par 73, following her 79-74 the first day.

“We were all really receptive to what Coach had to say after Monday and focused on our mental game,” Cain said. “I’m really proud of the girls, especially after having to get off the course because of bad weather.”

Despite a rough start in the first two rounds, freshman Elizabeth Tong also finished at 73, putting her tied for 15th at a 229-tournament total. She credited her final round to staying relaxed on the course.

“I just took it easy and things turned out,” Tong said. “My swing was more relaxed, and I wasn’t trying too hard to make the putts. It all just happened.”

With only one win this season at the IU Fall Kickoff, Wallman said the team is on the right track to finding its game.

“We haven’t put three good rounds together yet,” Wallman said. “We had all of our players at under 79 (in the final round), so we didn’t have any super high scores that hurt us. They know what they need to do to get better, and they’re doing it.”