Another strong season wrapped up Tuesday for the Kent State women’s golf team. The Flashes finished in a tie for fifth place after being eliminated in match play to No. 2 Alabama.

The team did what no other team outside the “Power Five” conferences had ever done, advancing to the match play stage at the National Championships in back-to-back seasons.

Flashes in fourth place after first day

Sophomore Pimnipa Panthong led the way for the Flashes as she finished 1-under par, the only golfer on the team to break par. She finished with four birdies on the day. Junior Michaela Finn, freshman Chloe Salort and junior Kasey Nielsen finished the day tied for 35th with a score of 3-over par.

Kent State consistency keeps them in the top six

Panthong again led the way for the Flashes as she finished the day at even-par. She had an eagle on the first hole and three birdies on the back nine.

Salort and Nielsen finished tied again, this time for 44th. The duo again shot 3-over par. Finn struggled on the day as she dropped to 62nd, shooting 8-over par on the day.

Sophomore Karoline Stormo finished tied for 127th after shooting 18-over par.

The team dropped to sixth place, but were only separated from fourth place by three shots.

Flashes qualify for medal round, led by Stormo

Stormo struggled during the first two days, combining to shoot 27-over par, but she showed up in a big way during the third day. She was the only member of the team to shoot under par on the day (1-under) as the Flashes finished in eighth place.

Panthong shot 6-over on the day, which resulted in her dropping to a tie for 30th place.

Flashes match up against Alabama

Kent State ran into a strong Alabama team that has two of the top three golfers in the country. The Flashes fought hard, but they were unable to keep up with the consistent play of Alabama. Panthong has led the Flashes all season, but Tuesday she ran into Lauren Stephenson. Stephenson is the top-ranked golfer in the country, according to golfstat.com. She proved to be too much as Panthong fell, 3&2.

This started a trend as three of the next four matches ended with a Crimson Tide victory. Stormo pulled off the lone victory for the Flashes. The fifth-place finish tied the program’s record at the event.

The program will not lose a single golfer from its roster heading into next season. They will look to improve upon their fifth place finish next season.

Ian Kreider is the sports editor. Contact him at [email protected].