The Kent State Women’s golf team has won 22 consecutive Mid-American championships and has no intention of that streak ending this weekend.

Led by fifth-year Chloe Salort and senior Emily Price, the Flashes are the clear favorite for the title once again, being the only MAC team ranked inside the top 100 women’s golf rankings.

Kent State is currently ranked 45th in the country, with the next closest being Central Michigan ranked 169th.

There was no tournament held in 2020 due to COVID-19, so the team has won 22 tournaments in 23 years.

The Flashes are led by first-year head coach Casey Vandamme, who spent his last seven years coaching a successful South Dakota State team.

“We’re trying to do what we do for every tournament,” Vandamme said. “Controlling what we can control and getting our games ready. We have to be ready to play at the highest level we have all year and need to be ready to roll from the first hole.”

Vandamme knows how rich of a program Kent State has and wants to continue the high standard of play and quality that the Flashes are known for.

“Nobody truly understands how hard it is to win one MAC championship, let alone 22 straight,” Vandamme said. “The decades of success are a direct representation of great coaching and athletes. I want to continue the standard that was set for me and have fun doing it.”

Kent State has placed in the top 10 in 6/9 invitationals for the year. While taking 2nd place last weekend at the Lady Buckeye Invitational in Columbus.

Emily Price shot a 68 on the final day to dominate the rest of the field and win outright. She was the only golfer to finish under par in the tournament. Emily shot a 72, 75 and a fantastic 68 on the final day to finish with a score of 215 and -1 overall.

“Really since the first hole everything felt great,” Price said. “I was striking the ball very well and playing smart, the weather was tough, but I was able to stay focused and have a great final round to get ready for the upcoming championship tournament.”

This marked Price’s first outright victory since the Illini Women’s Invitational in October of 2021.

“This was a big confidence booster,” Price said. “Something I can personally build off of going into the MAC tournament and we as a team overall. Our main goal is to win an NCAA championship and I truly believe we can do that.”

Vandamme was overwhelmingly proud of how his seniors played and led the team.

“Emily is a world-class player,” Vandamme said. “She had a great day on a hard golf course with difficult weather. She hit the ball incredibly and putted very efficiently as well. The last day was a great day for her where she really had her groove and never lost it.”

Chloe Salort tied second place overall. In three rounds, Salort scored 75, 72, and 74 to finish overall at 221 and +5 overall.

This gave the Flashes their first 1-2 finish of the season.

All five of the women finished with a score of 80 or lower keeping the entire team in the top two-thirds of the field.

“This was our highest finish of the year,” Vandamme said. “Everyone golfed great and we had an amazing day overall. The weather was frustrating, but the women were able to battle the high winds and give us a great finish.”

The Flashes will have a practice round Thursday and begin the tournament Friday morning. The final round will be Sunday.

Noah Keeney is a sports reporter. Contact him at [email protected].