DeKALB — The women’s golf team finished third at the Mid-American Championship last weekend, 39 strokes behind first place Kent State University. NIU cemented their place in the standings, finishing in third after each round.

Due to weather conditions that left the course unplayable Saturday, the Huskies wrapped up with 36 holes Sunday to finish the 54-hole championship.

NIU had two golfers break the program record for lowest round in the MAC Tournament.

First-year Ahra Ko shot a 71 in the second round Sunday breaking the previous record of 73. Then in the third round in the afternoon both Ko and senior Brielle Ward set the record scoring a 70 each.

Ko was the highest-finishing Huskie golfer on the leaderboard finishing tied for fifth place. Seniors Brielle Ward and Kelly Anderson had solid outings to finish there collegiate careers.

Ward finished tied for ninth place scoring a 223 for the tournament for seven over par. Anderson finished a few spots below Ward, tied for 14th with a score 225 at nine over par.

 

Friday

In the first round the Huskies started strong, ending the round with a score of 310. NIU stood in third place behind Toledo and Kent State, who is ranked 10th in the nation.

Head Coach Kim Kester said to NIU Athletics she is proud of how here team competed against top competition.

“We come here and you’re going against Kent State, the No. 10 team in the country,” Kester said. “We hung with them on the first day, but we need to do it all three rounds, that’s what we want, to be able to win this title.”

Ko,Ward and Kelly  all finished in the top 20 in the first round, helping lead their team to a third-place finish after round one.

Ward was the top performer out of the Huskies, tying for second place in the round, shooting three over par.

 

Sunday

The Huskies played better in the second round shooting a 299 as Ko, Ward, and Kelly continued to place in the top-20 individual scorers. NIU finished in third after round two..  

Ko led the Huskies with her then program-breaking round score of 71 after Sunday morning’s contest..

The Huskies’ final round resulted in a 287, to tie the programs lowest team round and setting NIU’s record for lowest round score at the MAC Championships.

The Huskies eld on to the third-place spot finishing 27 strokes ahead of fourth place Ball State University.

NIU’s final round was led by Ward and Ko who both shot a 70 to set the record for best round in the MAC Championship.The Huskies had several golfers bring home hardware, as Ko was named to the MAC All-Tournament team and Ward and sophomore Lauren Ingle were named to the All-MAC second team as well.

While the tournament marks the end of the women’s golf season, Kester said she was excited to see what the future has in store for her team.

“This team gave it their all throughout the season, which is all you can ask,” Kester said. “The good thing is, we keep improving every year, we’ve just got to keep getting better.”