Kansas State University Athletics
Monday, September 20
Manhattan, Kan
Kansas State University
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Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational
K-State Finishes Third, Isaac and Donche-Gay in Top Five at Colbert Hills
Sep 21, 2021 | Women's Golf
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State women's golf team had a tough final round on Tuesday and fell one spot in the leaderboard to finish in a tie for third place at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational held at the par-72, 6,221-yard Colbert Hills Golf Course.
"It's not the outcome we wanted for sure," head coach Kristi Knight said. "It was a combination of over-trying and poor execution, which led to higher scores."
It was a beautiful day at Colbert Hills, but K-State couldn't put together the push they needed to get the team title. The final round saw the Cats shoot 20-over par 308, bringing their final tally to 34-over par 898.
"We have put ourselves near the lead after round one of each event, but we have not been able to maintain that level of play for 54 holes," Knight said. "We have to keep challenging ourselves and putting ourselves in contention."
K-State finished 13 strokes back from the leader, Nebraska B team, who carded an overall score of 21-over par 885 to pull off the surprise victory. Nicole Hansen and Lindsey Thiele led the secondary Cornhusker team as they each shot 3-over par 219 to be co-individual champs.
The Wildcats were led by a pair of newcomers, freshman Remington Isaac and community-college transfer Manon Donche-Gay, both of whom captured the first top-five finishes in their Wildcat careers.
Isaac, who was in a tie for first place heading into Tuesday, couldn't quite match her performance from rounds one and two. However, the freshman did just enough in round three - 6-over par 78 - to finish with a team best 4-over par 220 and earn a tie for third.
"Remington had a good tournament," Knight said. "She gave herself an opportunity to win but came up two shots short."
There were high expectations going into the season for Isaac, and she has lived up to them so far. Through two tournaments, 100% of her rounds have counted to the team score, while she leads the team in stroke average (73.17) and rounds under par (2).
Donche-Gay made her climb up the leaderboard with an impressive final round on Tuesday morning. She shot a 1-over par 73 in a late rally to tie for fifth in her second tournament as a Cat.
Haley Vargas, a junior, shot 5-over par 77 in her final round today to finish tied for 33rd with a final score of 14-over 230.
Lilly Whitley and Napua Glossner, the final members of the Wildcat scoring lineup, both shot 8-over par 80 in round three. The freshman Whitley, who made her debut this week, landed in a tie for 35th place at 15-over 231, while Glosnner, a sophomore, finished in 40th place at 16-over par 232.
Sophomore Gabriella McNelly competed as an individual this week and had her first career top-20 finish. Her round three tally of 3-over par 75 brought her final total to 9-over 225, good for a tie in 19th place.
The other individuals were senior Heather Fortushniak and Briony Bayles. Fortushniak shot 3-over par 75 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 28th with her final tally coming to 11-over par 227. Bayles carded a 6-over par 78 in the final 18 holes to earn a tie in 32nd place and finish with a score of 14-over par 230.
Knight believes her team can build on this performance moving forward.
"College golf season is a marathon, not a sprint. It is vital that we learn from the miscues this week and improve. Hopefully we can learn from this week," Knight said.
Kansas State will be back in action next Monday and Tuesday at the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Oklahoma. The Wildcats will face off against a stacked field of Oklahoma, Baylor, Florida State, Illinois, Iowa State, Houston, North Texas, Oklahoma State, SMU, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas State, Tulsa and UTSA.
"It's not the outcome we wanted for sure," head coach Kristi Knight said. "It was a combination of over-trying and poor execution, which led to higher scores."
It was a beautiful day at Colbert Hills, but K-State couldn't put together the push they needed to get the team title. The final round saw the Cats shoot 20-over par 308, bringing their final tally to 34-over par 898.
"We have put ourselves near the lead after round one of each event, but we have not been able to maintain that level of play for 54 holes," Knight said. "We have to keep challenging ourselves and putting ourselves in contention."
K-State finished 13 strokes back from the leader, Nebraska B team, who carded an overall score of 21-over par 885 to pull off the surprise victory. Nicole Hansen and Lindsey Thiele led the secondary Cornhusker team as they each shot 3-over par 219 to be co-individual champs.
The Wildcats were led by a pair of newcomers, freshman Remington Isaac and community-college transfer Manon Donche-Gay, both of whom captured the first top-five finishes in their Wildcat careers.
Isaac, who was in a tie for first place heading into Tuesday, couldn't quite match her performance from rounds one and two. However, the freshman did just enough in round three - 6-over par 78 - to finish with a team best 4-over par 220 and earn a tie for third.
"Remington had a good tournament," Knight said. "She gave herself an opportunity to win but came up two shots short."
There were high expectations going into the season for Isaac, and she has lived up to them so far. Through two tournaments, 100% of her rounds have counted to the team score, while she leads the team in stroke average (73.17) and rounds under par (2).
Donche-Gay made her climb up the leaderboard with an impressive final round on Tuesday morning. She shot a 1-over par 73 in a late rally to tie for fifth in her second tournament as a Cat.
Haley Vargas, a junior, shot 5-over par 77 in her final round today to finish tied for 33rd with a final score of 14-over 230.
Lilly Whitley and Napua Glossner, the final members of the Wildcat scoring lineup, both shot 8-over par 80 in round three. The freshman Whitley, who made her debut this week, landed in a tie for 35th place at 15-over 231, while Glosnner, a sophomore, finished in 40th place at 16-over par 232.
Sophomore Gabriella McNelly competed as an individual this week and had her first career top-20 finish. Her round three tally of 3-over par 75 brought her final total to 9-over 225, good for a tie in 19th place.
The other individuals were senior Heather Fortushniak and Briony Bayles. Fortushniak shot 3-over par 75 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 28th with her final tally coming to 11-over par 227. Bayles carded a 6-over par 78 in the final 18 holes to earn a tie in 32nd place and finish with a score of 14-over par 230.
Knight believes her team can build on this performance moving forward.
"College golf season is a marathon, not a sprint. It is vital that we learn from the miscues this week and improve. Hopefully we can learn from this week," Knight said.
Kansas State will be back in action next Monday and Tuesday at the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Oklahoma. The Wildcats will face off against a stacked field of Oklahoma, Baylor, Florida State, Illinois, Iowa State, Houston, North Texas, Oklahoma State, SMU, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas State, Tulsa and UTSA.
'Cats takes 3⃣rd, Isaac and Donche-Gay in Top 5⃣ at Sunflower Invitational.#KStateWGOLF
— K-State Women's Golf (@KStateWGolf) September 21, 2021
🗞️ https://t.co/rHjI1OFT2f pic.twitter.com/9HqGxVJgKD
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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