LANSING, Mich. – A special run for the Lakeland University women's golf team came to an end Thursday after three rounds of the NCAA Division III Women's Golf Championship at Forest Akers West Golf Course on the campus of Michigan State University.
The Muskies shot a team score of 396 on the third day did not make the cut of the top 15 teams advancing to Friday's final round. Lakeland's first-ever trip to the NCAA championship ended after three rounds with a 25th-place finish in the team standings and a total score of 1178.
The Muskies were one of the first teams off the tee on Thursday and had some struggles on the front nine on the par-72, 5,818-yard course. Four of the team's five players shot better scores on the back nine and the team collectively shot 14 strokes better on the final nine holes.
Ali Wilson (
Jr.-Lincoln, Ill.) and
Cameron Lee (
Fr.-Pleasant Prairie, Wis.) tied for honors for the team's best score on Thursday with matching rounds of 94, including both shooting 50 on the front nine and 44 on the back nine. Wilson's round included three pars while Lee posted four pars and was at four-over on the back nine until double bogeys on the final two holes.
Wilson came home as Lakeland's top finisher overall, placing 117th overall with a three-round score of 280. Lee rallied to be the Muskies' second-best finisher with a score of 291.
MaKenzie Suhr (
So.-Janesville, Wis.) shot a 103 on Thursday and had the Muskies' best front nine score with a 48 including par on the par-3 seventh hole. She finished with a score of 310, fourth for Lakeland behind Wilson, Lee, and
Ashley Trapp (
So.-Cascade, Wis.), who finished with a round of 105 including 53 on the front nine and 52 on the back nine and was the team's No. 3 finisher overall with a 302 over 54 holes.
Maddie Perkins (
So.-Edgerton, Wis.) was the Muskies' fifth-place finisher overall and on the day with a round of 110. She fought back from a 59 on the front nine to record a pair of pars on the back nine on the par-3 12th and again on the par-4, 305-yard 16th hole.
Lakeland concluded a postseason that included an incredible rally from 25 shots behind on the final day to win its first-ever Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference championship and clinch its first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III Championship. The Muskies received the NACC's automatic berth into the championship, one of 21 automatic berths awarded to conference championship teams.
Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) University still holds a narrow lead in the team standings after the three rounds and shot the low team round of the day with a 305 for a total of 925. Methodist (N.C.) University remained in second after a round of 308 and is four shots behind the leaders, and George Fox (Ore.) University is third, 10 shots behind Carnegie Mellon. Makensie Toole of George Fox took control of the individual race and is four-over after three rounds, eight shots ahead of second-place Alexis Sudjianto of Carnegie Mellon.
The championship wraps up Friday with the final round, with the top 15 teams plus the top six individuals outside those teams all competing.
Round 3 Results
Team Standings
Individual Standings
Golfstat Results including scorecards
