Ball State women's golf competed in its second tournament of the season on Friday in Rio Verde, Arizona. The tournament was hosted by Western Michigan and included 17 total teams.
The Cardinals ended the first round of tournament play on Friday with 314 points to put them in a tie for ninth place with Xavier. Ball State collectively finished 33 over par on the day. Little Rock (+19), Akron (+21) and Seton Hall (+23) sat in the top three spots after the first day of play.
Sophomore Manon Tounalom and freshman Emily Knouff each tallied a 76 to finish in a tie for 15th place after the first 18 holes. The pair of underclassmen finished the day four over par.
Other Cardinals that contributed to the team in round one were senior Morgan Nadaline (+6), freshman Liz Kim (+12) and junior Sydney Anderson (+14.) Teeing off as individuals were freshmen Holly Anderson and Reece Malapit, who each finished 11 over par.
On Saturday morning, the Cardinals teed off in better weather conditions, which they used to their advantage.
"We knew coming out today that the conditions would improve and produce better scores," head coach Katherine Mowat said.
On Saturday, Ball State improved its overall scores. Tounalom led the Cardinals shooting five over par, while Nadaline shot four over par. Also contributing to the total score of 306 were Kim (+5), S. Anderson (+4) and Knouff (+6). Although the team's scores improved, Ball State dropped to 11th place after play on Saturday.
"It felt pretty nice to just enjoy the course a little bit more because [the weather] made it more calm," Mowat said.
The Cardinals scored 11 strokes better than on Friday, yet they currently sit in the bottom half of the rankings. After day two, Akron (+23) moved up to first, while Seton Hall (+27) and Arkansas State (+28) are in second and third.
Ball State will look to increase its chances of taking a top spot in the final round of the tournament on Sunday by avoiding big scores.
"If we can keep [big scores] off our scorecards ... we can minimize our damage," Mowat said.
The Cardinals will compete in the third and final round of the Rio Verde Invitational this afternoon.
Contact Drew Pierce with comments at dlpierce2@bsu.edu.
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