Cardinals take home hardware after winning first tournament of season

Women's golf sophomore Manon Tounalom tees off at hole nine during the Cardinal Classic on Sept. 19 at Players Club Woodland Trails. There were 19 teams competing in the tournament. Kaiti Sullivan, DN
Women's golf sophomore Manon Tounalom tees off at hole nine during the Cardinal Classic on Sept. 19 at Players Club Woodland Trails. There were 19 teams competing in the tournament. Kaiti Sullivan, DN

Ball State women’s golf stood above the rest this weekend, winning the Ball State Sunshine Invitational in Florida.

On Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 10, the Cardinals teed off their season with match play format at the PGA Village in St. Lucie, Florida. Ball State looked to its underclassmen to win their matchups and get points in the tournament.

The Cardinals started out strong Friday, gathering 10 points, which lifted them over Xavier (8.5), Valparaiso (5), Western Illinois (4) and IUPUI (2.5). Though everyone played well, it was the freshmen who made the difference for the team. 

“Our freshmen went undefeated today ... and everyone was pleased with how they played,” head coach Katherine Mowat said.

Some key perfomers of the invitational were Tounalom, freshman Liz Kim and freshman Holly Anderson, who all went undefeated in the tournament. The Cardinals are setting the bar high for the rest of the season.

Since Ball State led the field through two rounds, confidence was high and competition was fierce going into the final round on Saturday morning. 

With a tie score of 14-14 between Ball State and Xavier, the pressure was on Sophomore Manon Tounalom to seal the deal. In the final match, Tounalom earned a half-point to give the edge back to Ball State. Ball State finished with 14.5 points to seize the win over Xavier (14), Western Illinois (7.5), Valparaiso (6) and IUPUI (3). 

“This is exactly what we were looking for in our opening tournament” said Mowat, “My team played some incredible golf and they were confident and aggressive. They were making putts to win holes and making great shots…”

Ball State stays in warm weather at the Rio Verde Invitational in Arizona on Feb. 23-25. 

Contact Drew Pierce with comments at dlpierce2@bsu.edu.

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