Wildcats Fight Back During Round One in Colorado

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. – With a 9-under par back 9, the Kansas State women's golf team battled back to record a score of 1-under par 287 during the first round of the Ron Moore Intercollegiate on Friday at the par-72, 6,611-yard Highlands Ranch Golf Club.

Playing in their second event this week, the Wildcats came out of the gate slow by sitting at 8-over par at the turn, but K-State's scoring lineup combined for 12 birdies over the final 9 holes of the day to get back to the middle of the leaderboard. K-State enters Saturday's second round in ninth place, just three shots away from the top five.

"I really have to commend the ladies for their fight today," head coach Stew Burke said. "Nothing was easy, from adjusting to the altitude to playing in the toughest conditions of the day. We dug ourselves out of a big hole as we were in last place at one point, but we managed to keep ourselves in the tournament with a great showing on the back. We hope to ride the momentum into tomorrow and continue to play well."

Kansas State was led on Friday by freshman Nanami Nakashima at 3-under par 69, which tied her season-low round and marked her third under-par round of the year. A native of Kani, Japan, who also carded a 69 in the first round of the season-opening Powercat Invitational, Nakashima went bogey-free and 4-under par on the back 9 as she enters Saturday's second round tied for 10th place.

Senior Carla Bernat matched three bogeys on the front 9 with a trio of birdies on the back, and she is tied for 25th place at even par. Sophie Bert also shot even par on the day thanks to her lone birdie of the round on the final hole.

Junior Noa van Beek went 2-over par 74 on Friday, which included a 1-under par back 9, as she is tied for 49th place. Sophomore Alenka Navarro is tied for 78th place at 8-over par 80.

Minnesota is tied with host school Denver atop the team standings at 8-under par 280. The Gophers have the top two players on the individual leaderboard in sisters Reese and Isabella McCauley, who shot a 7-under par 65 and a 6-under par 66, respectively.

The second round of the Ron Moore Intercollegiate will be played on Saturday. Live results of the event can be found on Birdiefire.

– k-statesports.com –

How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Carla Bernat

Sophie Bert

Nanami Nakashima

Alenka Navarro

Noa van Beek

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