The Cardinals came in 14th at their most recent cross-country competition, exchanging the frigid climate of Muncie, Indiana, for that of Rio Verde, Arizona.
Despite sophomore Sarah Gallagher and freshman JJ Gregston counting quality scores throughout the three-day competition, Ball State was not able to battle out of the center of a highly contested 20-team field.
“It was kind of frustrating because I felt like we were coming off a really good finish a couple weeks ago,” head coach Cameron Andry said. “We just weren’t very sharp collectively.”
Gallagher completed the contest with a score of 215 (1-under-par) and finished in 8th place individually without eclipsing the course's 72-par threshold a single time.
“Sarah played extremely well,” Andry said. “She managed her game really well.”
Gregston backed Gallagher with a score of 222 (6-over-par). Sophomores Madelin Boyd and Jasmine Driscoll trailed with scores of 231 (15-over-par) and 234 (18-over-par), respectively.
“JJ had stretches where she was excellent, and I feel like she is really close to breaking through and posting some really low scores,” Andry said.
After receiving Mid-American Conference (MAC) Golfer of the Week honors at the Cardinals’ last competition (BGSU Women’s Intercollegiate), junior Sabrina Langerak struggled this week, finishing in 99th place individually.
“Sabrina had a really rough week,” Andry said. “It was like the polar opposite of how she played a couple weeks ago, and sometimes that’s just what happens in golf.”
The Cardinals were able to improve their team totals after a slow start in the competition's opening round but weren’t able to make any noteworthy noise on the leaderboard, only leapfrogging a single team in the final round.
“We can’t waste a tournament,” Andry said. “As long as we learn something to take forward, then we’re going to be okay.”
Friday - Round One
A common theme throughout the three-day event, Gallagher counted the Cardinals' best score of the first round and the best overall single-round score of the competition at 71 (1-under-par).
Gregston and Boyd followed with final scores of 76 (4-over-par) and 78 (6-over-par), respectively.
Ball State finished day one in 13th place overall with a combined score of 304 (16-over-par).
Saturday - Round Two
Despite finishing five strokes ahead of its team total from the opening round, Ball State fell to 15th place by the time the second round concluded.
Gallagher and Gregtson were the Cardinals’ top scorers, each swinging for even par rounds at 72 apiece.
Both Gallagher and Gregtson moved up on the individual leaderboard to 6th and 32nd, respectively.
Sunday - Round Three
The Cardinals closed the competition's final round in similar fashion to their round two finish with an equal team score of 299 (11-over-par) to end the Rio Verde Collegiate in 14th place.
“I think we saw some growth,” Andry said. “Sometimes things get rolling in the wrong direction, but Madelin Boyd was a good example today. She had struggled in the first two rounds, but posted a 74 (2-over-par) for us today.”
Gallagher slid two places individually to finish the contest in 8th after posting another even round with a score of 72.
Ball State heads to Humacao, Puerto Rico, with a chance to bounce back on Mar. 5 for another three-day competition in the form of the Puerto Rico Classic.
Contact Nick Shelton with comments via email at nicholas.shelton@bsu.edu or on X @NickS9954
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