<ong>Shannon Holden (So./Simi Valley, Calif./Royal) posted a near-perfect back nine, firing a two-under par 34 on the final nine holes, boosting her into a tie for third individually with her final-round 76, but Carleton College fell just shy of its sixth win of the season by one shot at its own invitational.
St. Thomas (324-319–643) edged Carleton (323-321–644) and Gustavus Adolphus (329-318–647) for the team title. The Tommies placed two players inside the top three as rookies Megan McCorkle (154) finished second and Emily Thul joined Holden and Gustavus’ Jordy Drenttel (155) in third.
UW-Stout’s Britt McNett-Emmerich fired a final-round even-par 72, a tourney record, winning with a 36-hole event record 149. The Blue Devils were only two off the single-round tourney record at 315, as they ended fourth at 652.
Holden struggled on the front side, carding a six-over par 42 that included a pair of double bogeys. She curled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole, reeled off six consecutive pars, and then buried a 20-footer down the hill on the par-5 16th before ending with two more pars. It marked Holden’s sixth top-five finish in eight events this year.
Grace Gilmore (Jr./Edina, Minn.) added a 78 to finish solo seventh, as the junior was rock solid all day, tallying 12 pars and six bogeys on the day. She’s recorded seven top-10 finishes this year.
“Overall it was a solid weekend for us,” Carleton head coach Eric Sieger said. “We know we can post a lower score, but this golf course is a stern test, much like we’ll see at the NCAA Championships in terms of the green complexes and demands off the tee. I saw a lot of positives out there this weekend.”
Sieger also noted that Tory Peterson (Fy./Marlborough, Conn./Loomis Chaffee School) posted a career-best 92. Mara Daly (Jr./St. Louis Park, Minn.) also knocked 10 shots off her first-round score, posting an 88 on Sunday.
The Knights are back in action at the Blugold Spring Invitational next weekend, with the NCAA Championships to follow May 12-15 in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla., at Mission Inn Resort.