Women's Golf finishes 20th at NCAA III Championships; Honigford gets into a playoff for the final individual spot in the final round
By Tim Glon
EAST LANSING, Mich. —The Ohio Northern women's golf team finished in 20th place at the NCAA Division III Championships on Thursday at Forest Akers West Golf Course.
The Polar Bears (38-22-1 overall) moved up one spot in Thursday's round, shooting a 338 on the par-72, 5818-yard course on Michigan State's campus.
ONU did not make the cut for the final round, as only the top 15 teams advance to play the final 18 holes on Friday.
Northern was in 21st place in the 25-team field after each of the first two rounds. ONU opened the tournament with a 355 and followed that up with a second round 351.
"We dug ourselves a hole in the first round," ONU head coach Chad Bucci said. "But we got better each day and that is a positive statement for our program. We kept playing and did a better job of relaxing. This was a great experience for our young players and hopefully we can use that experience next time we are here."
Freshman Grace Honigford (West Chester/Lakota East) led ONU with an 83-80-78—241 and finished 54 holes tied for 28th in the 131-woman field.
The top six individuals, playing either as individuals or on a team that did not make the 15-team cut, will play the final 18 holes as individuals on Friday.
Honigford lost in a playoff with Shreya Ganta of Christopher Newport (Va.) for the sixth and final individual spot on the first playoff hole.
Senior Lydia Cranmer (Farmington Hills, Mich./Ladywood) was tied for 94th with an 88-89-84—261, senior Annika Neumann (Valley City/Avon) was tied for 99th with an 86-92-86—264, sophomore Meghan Utterdyke (Lebanon/Fenwick) tied for 115th with a 98-90-90—278 and sophomore Torrie Smith (Russiaville, Ind./Western) birdied the final hole to finish 124th with a 102-100-95—297.
All five ONU players moved up in the individual standings on Thursday.
Ganta parred the final three holes in the next-to-last group to stay even with Honigford and force the playoff.
Honigford, after a more than six-hour layoff, hit her tee shot on the playoff hole into a tree just 13 paces off the fairway and had to take a drop.
She still had a 4-foot putt for bogey to halve the hole and keep the playoff alive, but it slid just to the left.
Fourth-ranked Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) leads the team standings with a 312-308-305—925, No. 2 Methodist (N.C.) is second with a 321-300-308—929 and No. 5 George Fox (Ore.) is third at 318-310-307—935.
Makensie Toole of George Fox (Ore.) leads the field with a 4-over par 220.
Team Standings
1. #4 Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) 312-308-305—925, 4. #2 Methodist (N.C.) 321-300-308—929, 3. #5 George Fox (Ore.) 318-310-307—935, 4. #6 Williams (Mass.) 320-315-321—956, 5. #1 Redlands (Calif.) 325-319-315—959, 6. Centre (Ky.) 325-309-328—962, t7. #8 Saint Catherine (Minn.) 322-323-326—971, t7. #15 Illinois Wesleyan 339-310-322—971, 9. #7 Emory (Ga.) 344-321-313—978, 10. #16 Washington and Lee (Va.) 330-324-327—981, 11. #12 York (Pa.) 337-319-329—985, 12. Denison 337-320-332—989, 13. Wisconsin-Whitewater 325-330-336—991, t14. #10 Texas-Dallas 329-334-331—994, t14. Rose-Hulman (Ind.) 342-326-326—994, 16. Grinnell (Iowa) 336-332-338—1006, 17. Saint Mary's (Ind.) 336-335-337—1008, 18. Dubuque (Iowa) 344-334-336—1014, 19. Ithaca (N.Y.) 342-363-337—1042, 20. Ohio Northern 355-351-338—1044, 21. Westminster (Pa.) 350-345-350—1055, 22. Marymount (Va.) 362-350-354—1066, 23. St. Scholastica (Minn.) 366-365-357—1088, 24. Catholic (D.C.) 393-372-357—1122, 25. Lakeland (Wis.) 399-383-396—1178.
Top 10 Individuals (Top 10 and ties earn All-America honors)
1. Makensie Toole (George Fox) 76-70-74—220, 2. Alexis Sudianto (Carnegie Mellon) 75-74-79—228, 3. Iris Liu (Redlands) 78-78-74—230, 4. Jillian Drinkard (Methodist) 79-76-76—231, t5. Rylee Suttor (Centre) 77-72-84—233, t5. Denise Pan (Carnegie Mellon) 78-81-74—233, t5. Ingrid Steingrimsen (Methodist) 79-79-75—233, t5. Sarah Hsu (Oglethorpe) 74-77-82—233, t5. Nichole Miller (Bethel) 79-74-80—233, t5. Hunter Kehoe (Saint Mary's) 76-78-79—233, t5. Megan Kanaby (Washington and Lee) 80-75-78—233.
Ohio Northern Individual Results
t29. Grace Honigford 83-80-78—241, 95. Lydia Cranmer 88-89-84—261, t99. Annika Neumann 86-92-86—264, t115. Meghan Utterdyke 98-90-90—278 124. Torrie Smith 102-100-95—297.
