A 13th place finish for the women’s golf team is not what it envisioned in its opening weekend.

The Redbird Invitational was split into two 18-hole segments Sunday, and ended with one 18-hole day Monday. NIU was led by freshman Sydney Brickey, who finished the tournament 44th with a 237 in her first college meet. Brickey had a 76 and 82, respectively, during her first two rounds on Sunday and finished Monday with a 79. Head coach Kim Kester seemed pleased with the way Brickey performed in her debut.

“Sydney played well for it being her first college meet,” Kester said. “She came through with some pretty low rounds. It was great to see that.”

NIU put nerves aside and came out ready to start the season, Brickey said.

“I was so excited to get out there,” Brickey said. “It was all I could think about.”

With this being Brickey’s first time out as a Huskie, she felt her teammates did a good job making her comfortable on the course.

“It was the best feeling in the world having these girls golfing with me,” Brickey said. “Teammates golfing in front of me supporting, and also golfing behind me and supporting me — it was a good feeling.”

The top three finishers were teams from the MAC, Toledo winning with an 890.

“It is always good to see teams from your own conference,” Kester said. “To start off the year seeing three or four teams from your conference, to see where you stand, is a good thing to see and a way to find out what you need to improve upon.”

The next Huskie to finish was sophomore Connie Ellett, who ended the meet with a 238. Senior Jenny Niemiec finished 60th with a 242 and battled back nine spots when she finished her final round with a 79. She started the tournament off with a 83 and 80 her first two rounds. Casey LaBarbera also carded in 60th with a 242 totaling an 84 in her last round while Taylor Ellett ended the meet with a 250 (83-82-85). Sophomore Samantha Coyne played as an individual golfer and ended the tournament in 55th with a 240.