Women's Golf | March 12

LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz.—Leading the Northern Illinois University Huskies women's golf team in the clubhouse for the fifth time this season, Alexa Ouellet (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/De La Salle College) finished in the top-25 at the Notre Dame Clover Cup, held at the Wigwam Golf Course, Blue Course.
 
This is the second time the Huskies have played at the Wigwam Golf Course, Blue Course this season, having previously competed in the BGSU Women's Intercollegiate in February. This time, the course featured a par-70 scorecard through 54 holes.
 
"I'm proud of the bounce back after day one for the team. This is a tough field as the top-7 teams here are typically making postseason and we got close to UTSA," said NIU head women's golf coach Kim Kester. "We need to clean up that first round but were able to be consistent in the final two rounds. Playing on a course we've seen already this season had some added benefits with firm greens and the knowledge of where to land the ball and we used that to our benefit."
 
Ouellet led the Huskies in two of the three rounds, starting with a 73 in the opening round. Ouellet carded three birdies in the first round before carding five more birdies in the second round as she shot a 74. Ouellet, who jumped five spots on the leaderboard in the final round, made par in the final round with an additional five birdies as she carded a total of 13 birdies in three rounds.
 
Caroline Kent (Frisco, Texas/University Prep) and Emma Thorman (Macomb, Ill./Macomb) grabbed top-40 finishes. Kent was five over par in her first two rounds before going four over in her final round of play and marked seven birdies throughout her rounds. Thorman bounced back after an eleven over par first round to make par her second round. Thorman was three over par in the final round as she carded a total of six birdies in action.
 
Mia Raines (Galena, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin) carded a total of five bridies in her three rounds while Dakota Tallent (Las Vegas, Nevada/Bishop Gorman) had three birdies on her scorecard.
 
"Alexa (Ouellet) has been consistent for us all season and Mia (Raines) was able to get four birdies in her final round today," said Kester. "We go cross-country this week as we head to the Valspar Invite in Georgia and will adjust for different grass and other elements. Our focus as we go into this next tournament is to get a better first round on the tee."
 
The Huskies women's golf team continues action this week as they travel to Augusta, Georgia for the Valspar Augusta Invitational on March 15 and 16. The Huskies will compete at the Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta against a field that includes Augusta, Emory, Michigan, Michigan State, Georgia Southern, and Texas Tech to name a few. NIU will team off at 8 a.m. ET on March 15.
 
NIU Scores
T-22 | Alexa Ouellet | 73-74-70= 217 (+7)
T-35 | Emma Thorman | 81-70-73= 224 (+14)
T-35 | Caroline Kent | 75-75-74= 224 (+14)
T-49 | Mia Raines | 77-75-76= 228 (+18)
T-52 | Dakota Tallent | 76-73-80=220 (+19)
 
8 | NIU | 301-202-293= 886 (+46)