The domination continues: Flashes pummel field en route to 20th straight MAC title

Amanda Levine

1998 was the Kent State women’s golf team’s inaugural season, and each year since then, the Flashes have won the Mid-American Conference Championship.

This year, the Flashes sent out their five best players — Pimnipa Panthong, Karoline Stormo, Michaela Finn, Chloe Salort and Kory Nielsen — to look to extend their winning streak to 20.

The Flashes went on to annihilate the field and win their 20th straight MAC championship, advancing to NCAA Regionals.

As a team, the Flashes finished at 11-under par, a MAC Championships record. Kent State won the tournament by a whopping 57 strokes.

Panthong finished in first place, winning the conference title and extending her tournament win streak to four. Panthong is ranked No. 28 in the country and moved up seven spots from the previous rankings. She will also be competing in the Arnold Palmer Cup this summer, a prestigious college golf tournament.

After the second round of the tournament, Stormo moved up three spots to fourth place after being in a tie at seventh. Stormo is currently ranked No. 92 in the country. Finn broke the tie for sole possession of second place. She is No. 84 in the country.

The Flashes had three of the four players in the tournament who are nationally ranked: Panthong, Finn and Stormo. The last player is Pinyada Kuvanun from Toledo.

Heading into the MAC championship, Kent State coach Greg Robertson saw Toledo as the Flashes’ biggest competitor.

In an interview last week, Robertson said, “Toledo has been our toughest competition the last few years. As a whole, the conference has continued to be more and more competitive on women’s golf.”

The Flashes will go on to compete in the NCAA Regionals May 7th to May 9th at a location to be determined. This will be their 20th straight appearance.

Amanda Levine is a sports reporter. Contact her at [email protected].