<. – Led by a top-10 finish for sophomore Ziyi Wang (Beijing City, China/Lighthouse Christian Academy), the Carleton College women’s golf team placed fourth out of 15 teams at the Washington (Mo.) University Spring Invitational. The field included 13 ranked teams, including seven top-25 programs.
No. 4-ranked Rhodes College—the defending NCAA Division III champion—won the 36-hole tournament with a team score of 597. No. 33 Gustavus Adolphus (624 strokes) edged No. 17 DePauw University (625) and No. 12 Carleton (627) in a tight battle for second place.
The Knights picked up head-to-head victories over No. 5-ranked Wittenberg (630) and host No. 16 Washington University (631). Those results could be important for Carleton come time for the determination of at-large selections to the NCAA Championships. The Knights already have three head-to-head wins over Gustavus in 2016-17.
Wang bounced back from an opening round 80 to card a two-over par 72 on Sunday afternoon. She climbed 16 spots on the leaderboard and finished tied for ninth (152, +12) in the 86-player field.
Alyssa Akiyama (Fy./Terrace Park, Ohio/Seven Hills School) was one of only 14 golfers to post back-to-back scores in the 70s and tied for 12th overall (79-75=154, +14).
“It was good to see Ziyi bounce back and have such a good low round,” said Carleton head coach Eric Sieger. “Alyssa did not have her ‘A’ game this weekend, but for her to scratch out a respectable finish against an elite field shows that she is one of the best in the country.”
Ayumi Sakamoto (So./Honolulu/‘Iolani School) also cracked the top-25 as she paced the Knights with a 78 on day one and carded an 81 on Sunday due to the windier conditions and tougher pin placements. Geraldine Tellbuescher (Sr./Ashiya, Japan/Canadian Academy) rounded out the Carleton scoring (80+82=162, +22) to tie for 33rd.
“I thought our scores—given the conditions—were very solid,” said Sieger. “We certainly could play better. The girls felt like they left some shots out there today and we made a few mistakes, but we stayed away from the big mistakes today. That was the difference between yesterday and today.”
UP NEXT FOR THE KNIGHTS: Carleton will take part in the Battle at the Creek, hosted by Bethel University on April 14-15 at Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker, Minn.