DeKALB – NIU women’s golf battled tough weather at The Beach Invitational and posted a score of 104 over par, 968, finishing in 14th place out of 15 schools. 

The Huskies did not have the best time in Mission Viejo, California, after spending the majority of the invitational toward the bottom of the leaderboard. NIU was not the only team to struggle, as four other schools finished with a score of at least 90 over par.

“We played pretty poor. The conditions weren’t something we’ve never seen before, especially being a Midwest school,” NIU women’s golf head coach Kim Kester said. “We didn’t play good golf. It’s not the NIU golf we’re capable of playing and we need to regroup and be better next time.”

The winning team, the University of California Los Angeles, scored 47 over par, 911, and a third-round score of nine over par, which sent them up two spots for the win. 

The only school to finish behind the Huskies was Murray State University, which posted a score of 110 over par, 974, including a third-round score of 32 over par causing them to sink below NIU. 

Junior Emily Romancew was the Huskies’ top individual finisher for the second straight week, placing tied for 31st. Eight other golfers finished their rounds tied with Romancew’s score. Romancew’s final scorecard featured a score of 21 over par, 237.

Junior Jasmine Ly had the next-best Huskie score, finishing tied for 43rd place with California State University, Fullerton’s freshman Katharina Zeilinger. Ly’s final score was 23 over par, 239. Ly finished the first round at 11 over par, the second round at seven over par and finished the third round at five over par. 

Senior Ahra Ko and graduate Sydney Naro both tied for 67th place with three other golfers: junior Linley Ooi of CSU Fullerton, freshman Kaitlyn Zieba of Murray State and senior Alma Garcia of Murray State. Ko’s third-round score of four over par helped her to jump 13 places in the final rankings and Naro’s score of 11 over par caused her to fall seven places. 

The Huskies’ next invitational will take place from March 10 through March 12 at the Longbow Country Club in Mesa, Arizona.