KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Northern Illinois University women's golf team overcame the elements and 37 other teams to take fourth place in a packed field at the Kiawah Island Classic in Kiawah Island, South Carolina Tuesday.
 
NIU golfers combined to shoot a 309 Tuesday on the par 72 Cougar Point course to give the Huskies a 54-hole total of 32-over par 896, one stroke behind third place East Tennessee State and four back of second place College of Charleston.  Dallas Baptist won the tournament by 27 strokes and were one of just three teams to break 300 on the day.
 
"Coming in, we had the goal to finish in the top five, since we weren't familiar with the majority of these teams," said head coach Kim Kester. "We ended up fourth after two great days and one so-so day. This early in the season you can't be disappointed in the finish."
 
Senior Lauren Ingle (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Hills-Stoney Creek HS) – one of three Huskies to card a five-over par 77 on Tuesday – finished with a 54-hole total of four-over par 220 to tie for seventh. Sophomore Ahra Ko (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett HS) also shot 77 in the final round and tied for 22^nd at eight-over par 224, one stroke better than teammate Sofia Gomez Enriquez (Asunción, Paraguay/Montverde Academy) whose final round 78 tied her for 28^th.  Caroline Klemp (Lansing, Kan./St. James Academy) also posted a 77 on Tuesday for NIU.
 
"Lauren is hitting the ball as pure as she possibly can," Kester said. "Her ball striking is absolutely unbelievable at the moment. We're seeing a lot of good things out of Ahra so far this season, she had back-to-back birdies today and we saw a lot of birdies as a team this tournament."
 
Kester said while the conditions affected the Huskies on Tuesday, they will benefit from the experience.   
 
"We haven't played in tournament conditions like this in quite some time," she said. "It was windy, it was cool and it was not ideal.  We handled it well for the most part.  We have a lot of great takeaways and a lot of things to work on to be better in this situation going forward. Time to move on and get ready for Vegas and hope to go win that one."
 
The Huskies return to action next Monday at the Jackrabbit Invitational in Boulder Creek, Nevada.
 
-- NIU --
 

DAY TWO RECAP

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – After winning the Mid-American Challenge in record-breaking style in its first tournament last month, the Northern Illinois University women's golf team is continuing its attack on the school record books at the Kiawah Island Classic in Kiawah Island, South Carolina this week.
 
After two rounds of the 54-hole tournament, NIU is second in the 41-team field, backing up Sunday's first round 294 at Cougar Point with a five-over par 293 on Monday at the Oak Point Golf Club. NIU (587) trails leader Dallas Baptist by 18 strokes heading into the final round and are three strokes ahead of third-place East Tennessee State (590) and four strokes clear of Murray State and Stetson, who are tied for fourth at 591.
 
Senior Lauren Ingle (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Hills-Stoney Creek HS) birdied the final two holes to finish Monday's round with a three-under par 69 and is tied for third in the 210-player field at one-under par 143. Ingle opened the tournament with a two-over par 74. 
 
Sophomore Ahra Ko (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett HS) and junior Sofia Gomez Enriquez (Asunción, Paraguay/Montverde Academy) are tied for 18^th after 36 holes at three-over par 147. Ko shot a team-best one-under par 71 Sunday and followed it with a 76 in the second round, while Gomez Enriquez went 74-73 in her rounds.  Junior Caroline Klemp shot (Lansing, Kan./St. James Academy) matching 75s to come in at six-over par 150 through the first two days.
 
The final round of the tournament is Tuesday with NIU on the par 72, 5,991-yard Cougar Point course.
 
-- NIU --