The Kansas State women’s golf team registered the second-best 54-hole score in program history with a 16-under par 848 (287, 277, 284), but the Wildcats fell one shot shy of holding on to its 36-hole lead as they finished in second place at the Ron Moore Intercollegiate after Sunday’s final round at the par-72, 6,611-yard Highlands Ranch Golf Club.
K-State finished one shot back of UNLV, which went 7-under par 281 on the day to edge the Wildcats. However, paired with its victory at the Powercat Invitational, it is the first time the Wildcats have posted two first- or second-place finishes in a 54-hole event in the same season since the fall of 2017. Additionally, four of K-State’s top-10 54-hole scores have now come in the last two seasons.
“I am really proud of the team and how they battled this week,” head coach Stew Burke said in a written statement. “We just ran out of gas coming down the stretch and couldn’t finish off as strong as we would have liked. Our score is a testament to what this group capable of, and everybody played their part this week. I would also like to thank K-State fans for the great support we had on the course this week.”
The Wildcats were led throughout the event by a pair of seniors in Carla Bernat (72, 71, 70) and Sophie Bert (72, 66, 75), who tied for 10th place at 3-under par 213. Bernat carded a 2-under par 70 on Sunday thanks to a bogey-free and 2-under par back 9. It was the fourth time in as many events this season that she finished at even or under par.
Bert, who went 3-over par 75 on Sunday, carded the second-best three-round total of her career, just one shot behind a 212 she put together at the Red Sky Classic during the fall of 2022 while playing for East Tennessee State.
K-State’s low round of the day was produced by sophomore Alenka Navarro at 3-under par 69. After carding a 79 in the first round, the Mexico City product tallied consecutive rounds in the 60s to move 61 spots up the leaderboard, finishing in a tie for 17th place at even-par 216 (79, 68, 69).
Junior Noa van Beek also went under par in Sunday’s closing round, firing a 2-under par 70 to bring her 54-hole total to 4-over par 220. A product of Oene, Netherlands, van Beek (74, 76, 70) tied for 37th place with freshman Nanami Nakashima (69, 72, 79).
Minnesota’s Isabella McCauley earned the individual title at 14-under par 202, edging Texas State’s Yvonne Chamness by four shots.
After playing in two tournaments over the last seven days, K-State now receives two weeks off from competition.
“We are really looking forward to getting back to Manhattan to get some downtime and a few days off,” Burke said. “We will start our preparation in the middle of next week for the final tournament of the fall. In the meantime, we are looking forward to the first set of rankings, which come out on October 15.”
Next action for the Wildcats is October 21-23 at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational, held at Kapolei Golf Club in Kapolei, Hawai’i.
