FINAL RESULTS
NAPERVILLE, Ill.- The No. 16 Kent State women's golf team did it again winning its 20th straight Mid-American Conference title after carding a MAC Championship record on Sunday at the Naperville Country Club.
The Golden Flashes, who have won every championship tournament put on by the MAC, won the tournament by 57 strokes after shooting a MAC Championship record of 11-under par 853 (282-285-286). The closest team to finish to the Flashes was second-place Toledo at 46-over par. Kent State's scorers all finished in the top-10.
The individual tournament championship went to sophomore Pimnipa Panthong (Nakhon Sawan, Thailand), who finished with a MAC record at 8-under par 208. She entered Sunday with a four-stroke lead on teammate Karoline Stormo and would finish six strokes up with a 3-under 69 in the final round. She finished her day with four birdies and led the tournament with 12 birdies.
Michaela Finn (Ängelholm, Sweden) finished second after mirroring her first round score of 71 in the third round. Finn finished the tournament at 2-under par 214. After her three birdies in the final round, Finn totaled 12 birdies in the tournament and led in par-3 scoring at 2-under.
Sophomore Karoline Stormo (Tvedestrand, Norway) placed fourth with a 2-over 218 score after carding a 75 (+3) third round. Stormo led the tournament in par-5 scoring at 2-under. Close behind with a fifth-place finish was freshman Chloe Salort (Ermont, France). Salort finished at 3-over par 219 after a third-round score of 75 (+3).
Freshman Kory Nielsen (Kent, Ohio) rounded out the Flashes' lineup after moving up the leaderboard to finish sixth at 5-over 221. Nielsen shot her lowest round of golf in the third round after carding a 1-under 71 score. Leading the team with 38 pars, the freshman birdied three times in the final round of golf.
After the tournament, Kent State would bring home several pieces of hardware. Panthong headlined postseason award winners as the 2018 MAC Golfer of the Year and named to the First Team All-MAC. For the second straight year, head coach Greg Robertson won Coach of the Year honors, his third award in four seasons. Finn and Stormo joined Panthong to make up three of the five members of the All-MAC First Team. The same three along with Salort were named to the All-Tournament team. Nielsen also was awarded postseason honors and named to the All-MAC Second Team.
The Flashes will move on to the NCAA Regional Tournament May 7-9. Regional sites in 2018 are Tallahassee, Fla., Austin, Texas, Madison, Wisc., and Stanford, Calif. The selection show will air on the Golf Channel's Morning Drive April 25 at 5:30 p.m.
