Women's Golf Concludes Regular Season at Lady Buckeye Invitational
4/19/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Kent State set to compete against nine Big Ten teams, including five squads ranked in the top 50 in the nation.
The Kent State women's golf team will conclude the regular season on a familiar course as it competes at the Lady Buckeye Invitational on Saturday and Sunday (April 20-21).
Ohio State will host the 54-hole tournament once again at the Scarlet Course of The Ohio State University Golf Club, which is a par 72, 6,268-yard course.
In its 33rd year, Kent State is one of just three schools from outside of the Big Ten Conference that will compete in this year's event. The Golden Flashes have played in the tournament in 13 of the last 14 seasons.
"It's a course that we are very familiar with, so we always look forward to going there and playing there and competing in our home state," coach Rob Wakeling said.
The weekend tournament will feature 36 rounds on Saturday with 18 holes to follow on Sunday. The scoring setup will also feature a "play six, count four" format, giving teams an additional score to count towards the team's total. Both days will feature an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
Kent State is coming off its lone tournament title of the season at the John Kirk/Panther Intercollegiate March 25-26. The Golden Flashes placed three in the top 10, led by sophomore Jennifer Ha's (Calgary, Alberta) runner-up finish at 226 (-1). Junior Erin Hawe (Walton, New Zealand) shot 234 to tie for sixth, and freshman Josée Doyon (St. Georges-de-Beauce, Quebec) took tenth with a 236.
Joining the trio in action this weekend will be freshman Tess Fraser (Marysville, Ohio), sophomore Natalie Goodson (Hudson, Ohio), and Brynn Schumacher (Brecksville, Ohio).
No. 10 Purdue, No. 19 Northwestern, and No. 27 Michigan State headline the teams who will be competing in Columbus this weekend. Last season, the Buckeyes defended their home course and won the tournament by 16 strokes. Kent State finished fifth.
Some of the nation's top individuals will compete at the Lady Buckeye Invitational. No. 16 Carolina Powers (Michigan State), No. 26 Paula Reto (Purdue), No. 50 Hanna Lee (Northwestern), No. 53 Kaitlin Park (Northwestern), and No. 64 Laura Gonzalaez (Purdue) will be among the top-ranked players in Columbus.
"We are going to use this weekend to prepare for Longaberger and get ready for the MAC Championships," Wakeling said. "It's been three weeks since we played a tournament, so hopefully we get a lot rounds in and get prepared for MACs next week."
The tournament will open with 36 rounds on Saturday (April 20), beginning at 8:45 a.m. The final 18 holes will be played on Sunday (April 21).
Kent State heads to the Mid-American Conference Championships at Longaberger Golf Club in Nashport, Ohio next weekend (May 26-28).
