The Kent State women’s golf team were third after the first round.

They continued to go up in the leaderboard, putting up the best scores of rounds two and three.

In the end, the Flashes took first by one stroke over second-place Michigan State.

Coach Greg Robertson said he is proud of the way the team played even in the tough conditions for the final round.

“We had solid play with tough conditions,” Robertson said. “Wind chill was in the 30s when we teed off final round, and it was raining with wind. It’s not easy with an already tough golf course.

“They played hard, battled the conditions, and we came out on top. It could have gone either way.”

Robertson explained the difficulty of the course with the conditions making it tougher.

“You have to put the ball in the right spot on the green, and the course has deep bunkers,” Robertson said. “It requires you to have good course management. If you can hit the ball long and be a ball striker, you have an advantage. It played really long with the wet and the cold.”

Robertson explained the secret for doing well in less than ideal conditions like the last round.

“You had to stay patient and steady,” Robertson said. “Pars were good scores. You had to fight through conditions and stay patient.”

With the postseason on the radar, Robertson said the competition is going to get tougher, and they have to continue to improve.

“We’re going to work the same way we have all year,” Robertson said. “We’re going to improve everyday with the tougher competition. I think we can compete with anybody. We need to take care of ourselves and not worry about the competition.”

The Flashes had all six participants finish inside the top 25. Pimnipa Panthong finished tied for fourth, Karoline Stormo finished eighth, Michaela Finn finished tied for ninth, Kory Nielsen finished tied for 13th, Chloe Salort finished tied for 19th and Thitapa Pakdeesettakul finished tied for 23rd.

Zachary McKnight is a sports reporter. Contact him at [email protected].