Women's Golf | April 15

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Sophomore Isabella Samudio (Bogota, Colombia/Colegio Helvetia de Bogota)
broke the Northern Illinois University school record with a second-round 67, leading the Huskie team to a school record 18-hole total of 289 Saturday en route to a fourth-place finish at the Lady Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Indiana.
 
Samudio's second round 67 included six birdies and just one bogey on the par 72, 6,247-yard Ackerman-Allen Course at Purdue as she bettered the Huskies' 18-hole mark of 68 previously held by teammate Brielle Ward and former Huskie Connie Ellett.
 
"She really hit the ball excellent," said NIU Assistant Coach Andrew Frame, who followed Samudio during her round. "The entire back nine, she was only outside of 10 feet once or twice. She never really hit any poor drives, and made the putts when she had the chance."
 
Samudio's 67 set the pace Saturday afternoon, but the sophomore had plenty of help from NIU junior Brielle Ward (Frisco, Texas/Wakeland HS), who led the way for the Huskies during the entire tournament with rounds of 74, 71 and 73 to finish tied for second at two-over par 218.  The junior has a pair of runner-up finishes in her past three events.
 
"[Brielle] is playing well," Kester said. "She knows what she's doing in her game, and is playing to what her ball flight is doing. She made a ton of putts yesterday, a couple of 20 and 30 footers for birdie. She put herself in good spots to give her a birdie shot."
 
Junior Kelly Anderson (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South HS) contributed to the record with her lowest round of the spring, a one-over par 73, during Saturday's second 18, as the Huskies' team score of one-over par 289 bettered the previous 18-hole mark of 292 set at the 2015 Cardinal Classic.   
 
"To have the team shoot the best score ever for 18 holes Saturday and for Isabella the lowest round ever by an NIU Huskie is a huge takeaway for us before conference next week," said NIU Head Coach Kim Kester.  "The team really showed the fight that they have.  In the first round, we didn't get off to a great start, and you throw the conditions today and they had a pretty good positive attitude the entire time.  The dedication, the determination, the attitude is there for next week to go out and win."
 
As a team, the Huskies finished fourth behind three teams ranked in the top 75 nationally in eventual winner Texas Tech, host Purdue and Augusta. NIU opened play with a 312 Saturday morning and finished Sunday in rainy and cold conditions with a 308.  The Huskies' 601 through 36 holes ranked as the second-lowest all-time and NIU's final total of 909 is the fifth-lowest for a 54-hole tournament, and the second-best of the season.
 
"Today, the girls stuck it out," Kester said. "There wasn't any standing water in the bunkers but at times they were squeegeeing the fairways during play, and you had rain, wind and cold temperatures. There wasn't a lot of complaining by our ladies, they dealt with the conditions and went to work.
 
NIU plays host to the Mid-American Conference Championships beginning Friday at the Naperville Country Club in Naperville, where the Huskies will be looking to unseat perennial champion Kent State. Fans are welcome to attend the event, which takes place Friday through Sunday, April 20-22 with tee times beginning at 9 a.m. each day.    
 
Team Scores
1. Texas Tech 284-294-294 – 872 (+8); 2. Purdue 297-292-291 – 880 (+16); 3. Augusta 302-298-300 – 900 (+36); 4. NIU 312-289-308 – 909 (+45); 5. Butler 311-307-317 – 935 (+71); 6. Ball State 317-313-319 – 949 (+85)
NIU Individuals
T2. Brielle Ward                              74-71-73 = 218 (+2)
T8. Isabella Samudio                      78-67-77 = 222 (+6)
T19. Kelly Anderson                      81-73-79 = 233 (+17)
T26. Lauren Ingle                          81-78-79 = 238 (+22)
28. Sofia Gomez Enriquez Riart   82-78-80 = 240 (+24)
T29. Lexi Salberg                           79-80-83 = 242 (+26)
 
Top Individuals
1. Gabby Barker (Texas Tech) 70-73-70 = 213 (-3); T2. Brielle Ward (NIU) 74-71-73 = 218 (+2) and Mami Yamamoto (Texas Tech) 71-71-76 = 218 (+2); T4. Micaela Farah (Purdue) 73-73-73 = 219 (+3) and Louisa Brunt (Texas Tech) 73-74-72 = 219 (+3) and Inez Wanamarta (Purdue) 76-71-72 = 219 (+3); 7. Cova SanJuan (Purdue) 76-74-71 = 221 (+5); T8. Isabella Samudio (NIU) 78-67-77 = 222 (+6) and Nicole Page (Augusta) 74-79-69 = 222 (+6); 10. Lauren Mason (Texas Tech) 70-76-77 = 223 (+7)
 
NIU Record Book Update at Lady Boilermaker Invitational
Team
Breaks record for 18-Hole Team Score - 289 (previous record: 2015 Cardinal Classic, 292)
2^nd all-time 36-Hole Team Score – 601 (2^nd best this year)
5^th all-time 54-Hole Team Score – 909 (2^nd best this year)
 
Individual
Isabella Samudio, 67 – breaks NIU record for 18-hole score (previously 68 by Brielle Ward and Connie Ellett in 2015-16)
Brielle Ward & Isabella Samudio, 145 – ties NIU record for lowest 36 hole score
 
-- NIU --