September 18, 2016

Cardinal Classic  

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Host School: Ball State
Date: Mon., Sept. 19-Tues., Sept. 20
Tee Times: 8:30 a.m. shotgun Monday; 9 a.m. shotgun Tuesday
Format: 36 holes Monday; 18 holes Tuesday
Course: The Players Club (Par-72; 6204 yards)
Live Stats: Golfstat.com
 
"We are excited to get back down to Ball State," said NIU head coach Kim Kester. "This is a special event for us. A few times throughout the year we are put in private housing and this is one of them. We get to stay with the same family as we had last year and it really eases the players."
 
FIELD
Ball State, Austin Peay, Bowling Green, Bradley, Central Michigan, Dayton, Drake, Eastern Kentucky, Fort Wayne, IUPUI, Northern Illinois, Northern Kentucky, Ohio, Toledo, Western Illinois and Western Michigan. Additionally, Indiana will have three individuals competing.
 
"We will see a fair amount of MAC schools this week which is nice," Kester said. "It's always good to see how you play against the teams early in the year that we will be competing against at the end of the season."
 
LINE UP
1. Brielle Ward; 2. Kelly Anderson; 3. Andréa Agniel; 4. Lena Gautier; 5. Issabella Samudio
 
LAST TIME
The NIU Women's Golf team finished third at the Cardinal Classic with a 54-hole school record score of 888 (296-300-292). Three Huskies finished in the top-10 led by Brielle Ward and Lena Gautier finishing fourth and eighth, respectively.
 
"The course has set up well for us in the past and we will take that experience we have and utilize it this year," Kester said. "I think a goal for this tournament is getting different players counting. Last tournament it was the same counters every round. We have the depth to count different players in different rounds and we hope to see that this week."
 
FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS
Lena Gautier (La Celle Saint Cloud, France/Creteil) will be seeing the Players Club for the third time. Sophomores Brielle Ward (Frisco, Texas/Wakeland) and Kelly Anderson (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) are getting their second look at the course while shooting 218 and 230, respectively, last year.
 
LAST YEAR'S PACK LEADER
Brielle Ward led the team with a strong 145 (75-70) after the first day. Ward's second round of 70 ranks her second on NIU's all-time list for a round of golf. After her final round on day two, Ward finished fourth while posting a 218 (75-70-73) and setting a new school record.

-NIU-