The Kent State women’s golf team added another milestone to its impressive season, winning its 25th consecutive Mid-American Conference championship.
Since the inaugural season in 1999, the Flashes are the only team to ever hoist the title.
KSU’s big victory came at Pinnacle Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio. The course was a challenging 6,201-yard, par 72 course.
After day two of the three-day event, the Flashes held only a two stroke lead over the second place Toledo Rockets.
“The last round in particular was a tough spring and the ladies grinded it out and got it done,” coach Casey VanDamme said.
Kent State finished the tournament 45 strokes over par; 11 strokes clear of Toledo.
Sophomore Leon Takagi shot a one-under first round and birdied holes 17 and 18 in the third round to finish six-over par and tie KSU’s senior Hester Sicking at the top of the individual leaderboard.
Sicking shot an even-par final round and jumped three spots to finish in a tie for first.
Freshman Veronika Kedronova finished two shots back of the lead (+8) and finished in third place.
“They’re just great players,” VanDamme said. “They played like they normally do and followed their game plan and had great rounds.”
The top four scores count for the team’s total score, and the team used a great bounce back round from junior Jennifer Gu, who shot a four-over 76 after a tough second round of 15-over par 87.
“Sometimes you don’t have it, and that golf course we just played is really challenging,” VanDamme said. “Jen’s played really well, many rounds with us through three years. She went back to doing her thing and doing what she normally does, and that was a great final round and great finish.”
This 25th MAC Championship team has looked different to VanDamme from others he has coached in the past.
“We only have six players, and everyone has contributed at some point for our team,” VanDamme said. “Everyone has been very much a part of it, and the team has grown close because of that.”
Not only do the Flashes have a close-knit team, but they are loaded with international talent.
Many Flashes golfers have dual citizenship from other countries, including Takagi (Japan), Kedronova (Czech Republic), Sicking (Netherlands) and Gu (Canada).
“Kent State has a history and tradition of international players and Kent State University has a tradition of international students,” VanDamme said. “It’s a good fit that way, they play a critical role. Leon, Veronika, Hester and Jen are all international.”
Despite having a small roster, the team has a good approach to its work outside of tournaments.
“Our approach to practicing golf is 25% long game, 25% short game, 25% mental and 25% management of fitness,” VanDamme said. “We try to break up our practices and training sessions into those equal parts, and we do that for every event.”
The mental aspect is big in the game of golf and during the postseason, it tests golfers.
“We give them strategies to help deal with pressure,” VanDamme said. “Focusing on what you can control is a great thing and embracing feeling pressure.”
Representing the MAC
With the win in the MAC Championships, KSU has earned the 10-seed in the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship.
Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas, Nevada will host the Flashes and 11 other teams starting on May 6. The top five teams will advance to the National Championships.
“I hope to see continued growth and getting better at what you can control and not worry too much about what you can’t control,” VanDamme said.
To get to the National Championships, it will need to be a complete team effort.
“We need to have our top players play really well,” VanDamme said. “The four and five spots in our lineup need to clean up some of our big numbers and get rid of the big scores on the card.”
Andrew Gold is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
