After claiming the title of Big Ten Champions last spring, Indiana women’s golf traveled to Havre de Grace, Maryland, looking to defend its conference championship. Last season, the Hoosiers became Big Ten Champions for the first time since 1998 with their final round surge to defeat Michigan State by one stroke.
But the 6,187-yard, par-72 Bulle Rock Golf Course proved to be a tough challenge for the Hoosiers. Indiana finished the 2025 Big Ten Championship with a score of 40 over par and in a tie for 16th place with Washington on April 18-20.
Indiana started the tournament with a first-round score of 17 over par, which put it in 16th place for the tournament. After their score of 305, the Hoosiers were unable to make a charge up the leaderboard, as they backed up their first round with an 18-over-par 306 in the second round, setting them even further back into 17th place.
The Hoosiers didn’t have a single player who shot under par for the first two rounds of the tournament, but two were in the top 50 after the first round of the tournament — redshirt senior Caroline Smith and junior Madison Dabagia. Dabagia sat tied for 29th place after a 2-over-par 74 and Smith was just one stroke behind and tied for 36th place with a 75. Redshirt junior Maddie May and senior Beatriz Junqueira each shot rounds of 6-over-par 78 in the first round as other scoring players for Indiana.
Smith and Dabagia remained in the top 50 following the second round, when they shot rounds of 3-over-par 75 and 4-over-par 76, respectively. May and freshman Cara Heisterkamp rounded out scoring for the Hoosiers in the second round. May scored a 5-over-par 77 while Heisterkamp recorded a 6-over-par 78.
Indiana played its best round of the tournament in the final round as it shot 293, 5 over par. It was paced by Heisterkamp, who shot a 3-under-par. She carded four birdies and just one bogey, which came on the par 4 16th hole. With her score of 69, she finished the tournament in 81st place at 20 over par.
One other Hoosier, Smith, shot under par Sunday. With her 1-under-par 71, Smith jumped 21 spots up the leaderboard which put her in a tie for 29th place at 6 over par for the tournament.
May and Dabagia were the other scoring players for Indiana during the final round with scores of 76 and 77, respectively. Dabagia finished the tournament in a tie for 50th place and May tied for 72nd. After a second-round score of 81 and a 79 in the final round, Junqueira finished the Big Ten Championship in 83rd place.
While the Hoosiers were able to turn their scoring around Sunday, it wasn’t enough for them to slide up the leaderboard, as they finished the tournament in a tie for 16th place. They tied Washington at 40 over par, only ahead of Nebraska and 52 strokes behind the 2025 Big Ten Champions, Oregon.
Indiana will learn its post-season fate at 1 p.m. Wednesday during the 2025 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship Selection Show, which will be broadcast on Golf Channel. If the Hoosiers are selected to the regional tournament, they will play May 5-7 at one of 12 regional locations.
