K-State Concludes Fall Slate at Home

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State women's golf team will put the finishing touches on its five-event fall schedule by hosting the Powercat Invitational, Monday and Tuesday, at the par-72, 6,446-yard Colbert Hills Golf Club.

This is the second edition of the Powercat Invitational, an event K-State won last year by 20 shots with a 54-hole score of 4-under par 860. The Wildcats had four players in the top 10, led by individual winner Carla Bernat at 8-under par 208.

"We are really looking forward to finishing up the fall season at home," head coach Stew Burke said. "Colbert Hills is in incredible shape, and we are lucky to have such a great place to call our home course. We dealt with a little bit of adversity this week and have made sure that we're prepared as best we can be for this event. I'm sure that the ladies will rise to the occasion and give our hometown fans something to cheer about come Tuesday."

The Wildcats have finished in the top four in three of their four events this season, including a tie for second place their last time out at the OU Intercollegiate at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson. K-State produced a rain-shortened 36-hole score of 20-over par 580, finishing ahead of a pair of top-25 teams in Baylor and Oklahoma State.

"The plan remains the same – regardless of where we play – which is to get off to a good start, keep the momentum throughout the round and battle the tough conditions that we know we are going to face," Burke said. "Ultimately, it is going to be a whole team effort this week to make sure that we post three good rounds and see where it adds up come Tuesday."

K-State welcomes 15 schools to its home course in Bethune-Cookman, Bowling Green, Bradley, Cincinnati, Incarnate Word, Lindenwood, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Kentucky, Oakland, South Dakota, Southern Illinois, Tarleton State and Wichita State.

All eight members of the squad will compete in the Powercat Invitational with sophomore Nanami Nakashima, freshman Keen Visavapattamawan, sophomore Kelsey Chen, freshman Casey Kang and senior Noa van Beek making up the scoring lineup. Juniors Julia Ballester Barrio and Alenka Navarro, as well as freshman Stalee Fields, will compete as individuals.

A product of Kani, Japan, Nakashima holds a 72.55 scoring average in her four events with three top-20 finishes. Her best showing of the year was a tie for 11th place at the Schooner Fall Classic at 3-under par 207. In her first collegiate event in last year's Powercat Invitational, Nakashima finished in second place at 1-under par 215.

Visavapattamawan, a native of Bangkok, Thailand, has seen time in every event during her rookie campaign as she holds a 72.91 scoring average. She is coming off back-to-back top-20 finishes, including a tie for 13th place at the OU Intercollegiate.

A transfer from Georgia Southern, Chen has averaged 72.36 strokes per round with three top-20 showings. The Dalian, China, product tied for eighth place at the season-opening Sam Golden Invitational at 7-under par 209.

Kang, another Chinese native from Lanzhou, is a part of the scoring lineup for a third-straight event. She is coming off a tie for 25th place at the OU Intercollegiate at 9-over par 149.

A native of Oene, Netherlands, van Beek leads the team with a 71.73 scoring average and enters the fall finale with two-straight top-10 showings. She had a career-best finish of a tie for sixth place at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational before topping that mark with a tie for fourth place at the OU Intercollegiate.

A native of Castellon, Spain, Ballester Barrio is playing in her second-straight event after tying for 37th at the OU Intercollegiate. Navarro, a product of Mexico City, is competing for the first time since the season-opening Sam Golden Invitational when she tied for 61st place at 5-over par 221. Fields, who hails from Fort Worth, Texas, is seeing action in her fourth event this season. Her best finish was a tie for 28th place at the Schooner Fall Classic with a score of 1-over par 211.

The Powercat Invitational gets underway on Monday with a shotgun start to the first 36 holes of play beginning at 8:15 a.m. K-State's scoring lineup will begin on Nos. 1-3, and the Wildcats will be paired with Bowling Green, Cincinnati and Wichita State in the first two rounds. Another 8:15 a.m. shotgun start will begin play for the final round on Tuesday, and pairings will be based on results from the first two rounds.

Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd. The event is free and open to the walking public.

– 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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Julia Ballester Barrio

Carla Bernat

Kelsey Chen

Stalee Fields

Casey Kang

Nanami Nakashima

Alenka Navarro

Noa van Beek

Keen Visavapattamawan

Kansas State University Athletics