Kent State women’s golf finished sixth at the Mary Fossum Invitational this past weekend. Sophomore Leon Takagi and senior Hester Sicking secured top-ten finishes over the two days at the invitational. 

“Overall, we showed some improvement, but we still have a long way to go to get where we want to go,” coach Casey VanDamme said. “We had some great individual play. Leon played great in the final round, and Hester had a very good and consistent tournament, one of her best tournaments. I was very happy for them.”

On Monday, Takagi moved 17 spots up the leaderboard. This earned her a tournament round best of 69 to finish at one over par, tying her for seventh place.

“Leon played very well on her last day. She controlled what she could control, and she hit more fairways that day, which allowed her to convert and score better,” VanDamme said. “She had the best round of the day in the tournament, so that’s why she moved up so much.”  

Sicking scored the second top-ten finish of her career. She tied for ninth at two over par and stayed consistent throughout the tournament, shooting a three-round line of (73-73-72). 

“She had her most consistent tournament and a great mental approach to the event. She had some errors in the past that would have derailed her a little bit, but in this tournament, she hung in there,” VanDamme said. “I’m very happy for her and hope we can springboard her into some more good finishes this year.”

After tying for first at last week’s match, freshman Veronika Kedronova was the third Flash to finish in the top 40, tying for 32nd, shooting nine over par this week.  

“I think any time you play really well like that, internally, you make your own pressure. There wasn’t any pressure from us or the team, but she had a few bad breaks and then just didn’t quite hit it as well as she did the week before,” VanDamme said. “So, I think it was a learning experience for her; we expect big things from her in weeks to come. She had a solid tournament, probably just not what she was hoping for.”

Kent State has now finished in the top half of each tournament this season.

“I want them to continue what they are doing, following the game plan of what they are trying to control. The next course, in particular, that we are playing is a very difficult green complex, so we need to focus a little more on short game, where to miss, and being on the right spot on the course,” VanDamme said. “So I hope they continue what they are working on and get ready for the next event.”  

The Flashes travel to Toledo on Monday and Tuesday to play in the Glass City Invitational. 

Emily Lowen is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].