Taking seventh place in a field of 10 teams on Tuesday, NIU women’s golf traveled to Akron, Ohio, to compete in the 2026 Mid-American Conference Championship at the Firestone Country Club.
“It was a great experience to compete at a renowned venue like Firestone Country Club,” said NIU women’s golf head coach Kim Kester via NIU Athletics.
The Huskies’ final score for the invitational was 903, 63-over par.
NIU finished 10 strokes behind Western Michigan University and two strokes ahead of eighth-place Central Michigan University.
Kent State University took home the MAC Championship, winning by 22 strokes for a score of 9-under par. Kent State junior Veronika Kedronova was the individual champion of the event, winning by 5 strokes, finishing with a score of 203, 7-under par.
NIU’s best round of the MAC Championship was the second round, with a score of 18-over par, 298.
The top finisher for the Huskies was sophomore Mia Raines, who finished tied for 16th. Raines finished nine over par with a score of 219. Her best score came in the third round, scoring 2-over par. Raines shot 3-over par in the first frame and 4-over par in the second frame.
Sophomore Alexa Ouellet finished in 29th place with a score of 19-over par, 225. Ouellet’s best score of the MAC Championship came in the second round with 73 strokes, 3-over par.
Finishing in 35th place was sophomore Dakota Tallent who finished with a score of 229, 19-over par.
Freshman Emile Chile finished tied for 39th, finishing 24-over par with a score of 234.
Tallent’s best round was the first, finishing 5-over par, while Chile’s was the second and third, finishing 7-over par in both.
The last Huskie on the leaderboard was graduate student Caroline Kent, who finished tied for 45th place. Kent shot 13-over par in the first round, and then improved to 4-over par in the second frame and 11-over par in the third, finishing 28-over par with a final score of 238.
“Despite some extremely challenging weather, our team fought hard and I’m proud of their effort,” Kester said, “We’re grateful for the five years Caroline has dedicated to our program, and as we close out the season, we’re excited for what’s ahead.”
The MAC Championship brings an end to the NIU women’s golf season.
