Kent State's Puerto Rico-winning squad (Photo courtesy Kent State Athletics)
You might say that Kent State’s season began rather quietly, considering the amount of talent that’s on this Kent, Ohio-based roster. The Golden Flashes opened the fall with back-to-back wins, and little fanfare, then finished runner-up in the next three starts.
On Tuesday, Kent State logged its third win of the season at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic after going 2 under as a team over the final 18 holes at Rio Mar Country Club’s River Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. With a five-shot lead at the start of the day, Arkansas only narrowly outpaced Kent State over the final 18 holes – finishing the day at 3 under – and landed four shots back in second.
Kent State junior Karoline Stormo played a huge role in the team effort, logging rounds of 69-71-69 for a 7-under total that left her with a share of the individual lead. East Carolina’s Dorthea Forbrigd also finished with a share of first.
Stormo is now 17 under in her last six tournament rounds and has won three times in her career, with two of those victories coming this season.
Two other Golden Flashes also landed inside the top 10, including Chloe Salort (T-9), who played as an individual this week.
Related: Kent State is hoping it's time for the next step
Kent State is No. 10 in the
Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, down one spot from where it ended the fall. Over the past five seasons, the Golden Flashes have charted a steady rise up those rankings, ending last season at No. 13, their previous best. The team also won three times last season, and never finished outside the top 6 until finishing seventh at the NCAA Championship. That was enough to get the Golden Flashes to match play for the second time in the past two years.
Two team members earned invitations to the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur later this spring, courtesy of their Official World Golf Ranking position. Those players are Michaela Finn and Pimnipa Panthong.
Virginia Tech finished third at the Lady Puerto Rico with a 14-over team total and Northwestern was fourth another shot back. East Carolina rounded out the top 5.
ABOUT THE
Puerto Rico Women's Classic
54-hole women's college tournament hosted by
Purdue University. Team (best four scores out of five
players) and individual competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information