Women's Golf | January 27

ORLANDO, Fla— Dakota Tallent (Las Vegas, Nevada/Bishop Gorman) led the Northern Illinois University Huskies women's golf team as they wrapped up action at the UCF Challenge, presented by DPI this afternoon (January 27).
 
The Huskies competed in the three-day, par-72 course which featured top-25 teams in Auburn, Mississippi State, UCF, Baylor, and Kent State. Avery Weed, from Mississippi State, was in competition over the three days as she ranked No. 1 in the nation. 
 
Tallent was the only Huskie to record a round under par, noting a 71 in the second round of play. Tallent added five birdies over three rounds.
 
"Very proud of the second round the ladies put together," said NIU head coach Kim Kester. "Our start was the best in the field through 3-4 holes. (We) sustained solid play most of the round. Unfortunately, our start in round one and finish in round three hurt us. A lot of great things to take and learn from heading to Arizona. This was an elite field to play in."
 
Mia Raines (Galena, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin) saw back-to-back rounds of three birdies each as Raines birdied the 14th hole in the second and third round. Emile Chile (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound) saw four birdies in the first round before adding five in the second and third rounds. Chile birdied the 13th hole in the second and third round.
 
Alexa Ouellet (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) had four of her five birdies in the second round. Caroline Kent (Frisco, Texas/iUniversity Prep) had four birdies in total while Eva Nijenhuis (Heiloo, Netherlands/OSG Willem Blaeu) had just one birdie in her first round.
 
The Huskies carded ten birdies in the opening round, including three holes that saw two NIU golfers card a birdie. Chile and Ouellet birdied the third hole while Chile and Raines birdied the fourth hole. Tallent and Raines made it to the hole in three on the seventh hole, a par four.
 
Tallent, Raines, Ouellet, and Chile recorded a birdie on the 14th hole, a par 4, in the second round. Ouellet led the Huskies with four birdies in the round while Raines, Chile, and Kent had three birdies in the round.
 
Chile and Tallent each birdied the 13th hole as the Huskies recorded just seven birdies in the third and final round. The third round was split into two days due to weather conditions in the area.
 
The Huskies return to action on February 10-11 as they compete at the BGSU Women's Intercollegiate. Action will take place at the Wigwam Golf Club-Blue Course in Litchfield Park, Arizona.
 
Want to stay in the know with NIU Women's Golf? Follow the team on Facebook (Northern Illinois University Women's Golf), X/Twitter (@NIUWomensGolf), and on Instagram (@niuwomensgolf).
 
 
Huskie Scorecard
 
T-56 | Dakota Tallent | 74-71-78 = 223
T-61 | Mia Raines | 77-73-74 = 224
T-75 | Emile Chile | 75-77-76 = 228
T-83 | Alexa Ouellet | 76-76-80 = 232
89 | Caroline Kent | 82-71-81 = 235
96 | Eva Nijenhuis | 87-85-88 = 260  *Competed as Individual