Golf breaks team record at Cardinal Classic
Jami Laude and Natalie Johnson led the Central Michigan golf team to a new team record Monday and Tuesday as the Chippewas shot a total score of 919 at the Ball State Cardinal Classic.
The Chippewas finished 13th out of 19 teams. Indianapolis led both days and won the Cardinal Classic with a total score of 863.
Laude, a freshman, shot two 74’s in rounds 1 and 3. Senior Natalie Johnson and sophomore Danielle Sawyer also shot a 74. Senior Kristen Wolfe had a round-best score of 76 while Senior Holly Hines followed with a score of 77.
“We had solid, consistent scoring,” head coach Cheryl Stacy said. “All the (CMU) ladies had averages under 80, which will be a confidence booster moving forward.”
The Chippewa’s team average after the third and final round was 77.2. CMU's average in the Cardinal Classic last year was 79.7.
Stacy said she wasn’t surprised about Laude’s performance, saying the freshman sets the tone for everyone on the team.
“She (has) been in the atmosphere before," Stacy said. "(Laude) has high expectations for herself and her play can be inspiring for her teammates this year.”
Laude shot a 217, tying for 39th overall out of 100 players. She was 10 strokes behind 5th place finisher Kylie Raines of Indianapolis.
Johnson finished 2 strokes behind Laude with a 229 to tie for 45th place. Sawyer tied for 53rd with a 232. Akron's Jacinta Pikunas placed first individually with a 210.
Other Mid-American Conference teams competing in the event were Akron, which placed 3rd with a score of 883, followed by Toledo in fourth place with a 886. Western Michigan finished in 7th place with a 903. Ball State tied for 9th place and Bowling Green finished behind the Chippewas with a 923 to take 14th place.
Stacy said it was nice to place ahead of Bowling Green State and that the team is always trying to knock off as many MAC teams as possible at each event.
The Chippewas next opportunity to do so will be Sept. 23-24 at the Mary Fossum Invitational at Michigan State University.
