LANSING, Mich.  – The Northern Illinois University women's golf team wrapped up play at the Mary Fossum Invitational in Lansing, Michigan on Monday with a final round 302 to finish 12th at the par 72 Forest Akers West Course in Lansing.
 
Playing against one of, if not the, toughest field it will face this season with 10 teams in the field from the Big Ten, SEC or ACC, NIU shot an opening round 297 Sunday morning behind seniors Jasmine Ly and Emily Romancew who posted scores of 70 and 71, respectively.
 
The afternoon 18 though, did not go as well for the Huskies with Romancew's three-over par 75 the only sub-80 score of the second round. NIU's team score 317 moved the Huskies into 12th place.
 
NIU rebounded Monday with a 14-over par 302 with all five players shooting in the 70s, led by Romancew, who fired a one-over 73. Sydney Naro recorded a three-over 75, followed by Ly with a 76, Karen Liu at 78 and Caroline Kent at 79.
 
This was an extremely tough field, probably the toughest we will face all year," said NIU head coach Kim Kester. "Michigan State is hosting a [NCAA] Regional here this year which is why we saw some of these teams here. There were a lot of bright spots to take away. After [Sunday's] first round, we were right there and then slipped back some in the afternoon when conditions got a little harder. Then through the first 10 holes today we had the lowest score in the field, just stumbled a bit down the stretch."  
 
The Huskies' 916 54-hole total was good for a 12th-place finish, 14 strokes better than Toledo (930) and 13 strokes behind 11th place Notre Dame (903).  Purdue took the team title, followed by host Michigan State and Ohio State. Kent State, the only other MAC team in the field, tied for sixth at 888.
 
With a three-round score of three-over par 219, Romancew tied for 15th to lead the Huskies. Ly totaled a 10-over par 226 to tie for 37th while Naro tied for 67th at 18 over par 234.
 
"Jaz [Ly] and Emily [Romancew] worked extremely hard this summer and have carried that into the year," Kester said. "They are playing some really good golf and putting themselves in position to score. They are going to be huge factors for us this year and we know we can count on them when needed. Sydney [Naro] didn't have her best game this week but started strong today. We have to get our four and five spot to be more consistent, and we are starting to see some progress there. Then, we need to get into shape – mentally – to be able to maintain through these 36 hole days."
 
NIU's September run of tournaments continues as the Huskies head to Missouri for the Johnie Imes Invitational, which will be played next Monday through Wednesday, September 25-27 at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia.
 
NIU Scores from the Mary Fossum Invitational
T15. Emily Romancew 71-75-73 = 219 (+3)
T37. Jasmine Ly 70-80-76 = 226 (+10)
T67. Sydney Naro 78-81-75 = 234 (+18)
76. Karen Liu 78-83-78 = 239 (+23)
T77. Caroline Kent 81-81-79 = 241 (+25)
12. NIU 297-317-302 = 916 (+52)
 
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