NC State women’s golf fought through a bad start and challenging course conditions to secure a fourth-place finish at the Inverness Intercollegiate in Toledo, Ohio on Sept. 15 and 16.
From the jump, it seemed like nothing was going right for the Wolfpack. Freshmen Ellie Hildreth and Lindsay McGrath posted double bogeys on their first holes. They ended the round a combined 25-over-par.
The other underclassman starter, star sophomore Marie Eline Madsen, struggled mightily, falling to 5-over-par at the turn. When she got back to the clubhouse through 18 holes, she had shot her worst career score — an 8-over-par 79. Junior Lea Ludwig shared those struggles too, sitting at 7-over-par before an 18th hole birdie partially salvaged her round.
While the others struggled, senior Vania Simont was thriving, sitting tied for second after a first-round 72 — two strokes off the lead. Still, the Wolfpack was in eighth place, 13 strokes back from first-place Florida.
After a treacherous first round, the Wolfpack fought back. Madsen posted a 2-under-par 69 and a final-round 73 to salvage a fifth-place finish at 8-over-par. Simont faded slightly with rounds of 76 and 74, but still managed eighth place, her best finish since February when she placed fifth at the Daniel Island Invitational.
Matching Madsen’s 73 in Round 3 was Ludwig — promising results. But a poor second-round 78 had already pushed her way up the leaderboard after posting eight bogeys. Nevertheless, her third-round contributions helped the Pack push just ahead of TCU, which finished just behind NC State at 50-over-par.
McGrath posted a very impressive 73 in Round 2, helping her climb 22 spots on the leaderboard to a tie for 35th from 57th. Hildreth, on the other hand, couldn’t get going in the second round, posting a 6-over-par 77 and did not record a birdie.
Freshman Elizabeth Sullivan made the trip, competing as an individual in the first tournament of her collegiate career. In the 65-person field, she finished tied for 56th at 30-over-par.
Despite the Pack’s struggles throughout much of the tournament, the squad persevered enough to salvage a solid finish in a field featuring a top SEC team in Florida, and a solid Big Ten team in Ohio State — teams that are likely to be in the top-25 when the college golf rankings are released in October.
Next up, the Pack heads to Chapel Hill for the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational on Oct. 17-19.
