photo by: Kansas Athletics
Kansas women’s golf coach Lindsay Kuhle
The Kansas women’s golf team secured its first victory of the season on Tuesday, capturing the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational at Lawrence Country Club for the third consecutive year. The Jayhawks built a commanding lead by posting an 8-under score in the opening round, while no other team managed to shoot better than 10-over.
Overall, Kansas finished the event at 6-over, finishing 23 strokes ahead of second-place Delaware. The Blue Hens’ Rhianna Gooneratne took home the individual title with a score of 2-under, edging out Kansas junior Ebba Nordstedt, the reigning champion, by two strokes.
Despite not claiming the individual win, Kansas had a strong showing with four players finishing in the top six. Sophomore Kinslea Jones, who led after two rounds, finished tied for third at 1-over. Fifth-year golfer Anna Wallin placed fifth at 4-over, while freshman Hannah Hall came in sixth at 5-over.
Senior Lyla Louderbaugh also contributed to the team’s success, tying for 16th place at 13-over. Freshman Elizabeth Wilson, competing as part of the Jayhawks’ B team, impressed by tying for 10th place at 11-over.
The Kansas B team finished eighth overall with a total score of 64-over, with Wilson leading the way. Senior Zoe Pinillos tied for 24th at 15-over, followed by sophomore Marieke Ebens in a tie for 39th at 19-over, freshman Lavanya Gupta in 45th at 21-over, and sophomore Amanda Gyllner in 50th at 24-over.
In the overall team standings, Kansas and Delaware were followed by California, UC Davis, Longwood, St. Thomas, Central Arkansas, Kansas B, New Mexico, San Francisco, Middle Tennessee, Creighton, Omaha, and Northern Iowa.
After previously finishing fifth and eighth in their first two events of the season, the Jayhawks are set to continue their schedule on October 16 at the Play for Her Stanford Invitational in Stanford, California.
