Women's Golf | April 21
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Northern Illinois University women's golf team sits in fifth place after one round of action at the 2023 MAC Championships at Kalamazoo Country Club.
"There's still a lot of golf to be played, but we did not start out well. We were seven-over through the first three holes, so we've been digging out of a hole right from the beginning," said head NIU coach
Kim Kester.
Despite its placing, NIU is just two strokes away from second place in the tightly-pack field of 10 MAC schools at the par 72, 6,011-yard golf course. As a team, the Huskies shot a 305 while Kent State leads the field after firing a 291.
Jasmine Ly (Windsor, Ontario, Can./Holy Names High School) is pacing the Huskies with her two-over 74 scorecard. Ly birdied hole three and sits tied for seventh as an individual, but just four strokes away from the top-spot.
"Jasmine (Ly) has been steady, and I know we can lean on her a little bit,"
Ahra Ko (Suwanee, Ga./North Gwinnett),
Karen Liu (Taipei, Taiwan/Taipei Municipal Heping), and
Emily Romancew (Pierrefonds, Quebec, Can./Ecole Secondaire Des Sources) all shot 77's in round one. The trio is currently tied for 22
nd. Ko and Liu have one birdie each to their names.
Romancew fought back from two double bogeys, posting four birdies through the remaining 16 holes to keep her within striking distance.
Sydney Naro (Toronto, Ontario, Can./Hills International Golf Academy) rounds out the Huskies' starting five after shooting an 84.
Round two will resume tomorrow with NIU's tee times are set for 11:10-11:50 a.m. ET. Naro will lead things off for NIU while Romancew, Liu, Ko, and Ly will follow. The Huskies will be paired with Akron and Central Michigan. Round three will end the action this Sunday.
"We've got to get off to a better start. We closed better today, which has been a positive. We've had a little bit of a struggle the past few weeks of closing, so we did that a lot better today than in the past, but we just have got to get off to a better start. We need to start on top and not be digging ourselves out of a hole. We have to improve, and I know we can. It's just about taking it one shot at a time."
