Women's Golf Completes Day 1 at Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational

Monday, October 2

Colbert Hills Golf Course (Manhattan, Kan.)

Rutgers University

Marilyn Smith Sunflower Invitational

Photo by: Ben Solomon

Women's Golf Completes Day 1 at Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational

Oct 02 | Women's Golf

Results Live Scoring/Results

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Rutgers women's golf had a strong opening day at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational, sitting in fourth out of nine teams after two rounds of play at Colbert Hills Golf Club.

Rikke Nordvik sits in a tie for fifth place at even par, thanks in part to a 1-under 71 in round two, playing through difficult conditions. Lorena Rossettin joins her in the top 10, as she is in a tie for 10th place with one round remaining.

"We had some good stretches of play out here on a challenging golf course," head coach Kari Williams said. "We had some tough pins and high winds to manage but I was happy with the way we battled for birdies. Tomorrow we need to focus on minimizing our mistakes and managing ourselves around the course for all 18 holes to have a chance at climbing this leaderboard."

2023 Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational: Rounds 1 & 2
October 2, 2023
Colbert Hills Golf Club (Manhattan, Kan.)
Par 72 | 6,367 yards
Weather: Partly Clouds, Temps in Mid-80's, 10-15 mph winds

4	Rutgers	298	295	593
Place	Name	Round 1	Round 2	Tournament
T5	Rikke Nordvik	73 (+1)	71 (-1)	144 (E)
T10	Lorena Rossettin	75 (+3)	72 (E)	147 (+3)
T21	Leigha Devine	74 (+2)	76 (+4)	150 (+6)
T33	Cathi Graf	78 (+6)	76 (+4)	154 (+10)
T37	Krystal Li	76 (+4)	79 (+7)	155 (+11)
T26*	Emily James*	78 (+6)*	74 (+2)*	152 (+8)*

* – Competing as individual

Starting on hole No. 7, Nordvik was able to gain momentum early in her opening round, birdieing holes No. 13, 14 and 15 to shoot a 3-under 33 on the back. She added another birdie on No. 4 to shoot a 1-over 73 in her first round.

She continued her strong play in the second round, carding another four birdies to shoot a 1-under 71 and vault into a tie for fifth place heading into the final round, shooting an even-par 144 (73-71).

"I am hitting the ball better this week and set myself up for lots of birdie opportunities," Nordvik said. "The wind definitely made the day tougher, so I just tried to make smart decisions and I stayed patient. As a team, we feel confident that we can come out tomorrow and finish strong in our final round of the tournament.

Lorena Rossettin continues to play well as a true freshman for RU. After an opening-round 3-over 75 that featured 15 pars, Rossettin shot an even-par 72 in her second round, highlighted by birdies on holes No. 4, 5 and 9, giving her a 3-over 147 (75-72) for the tournament.

Leigha Devine sits just outside the top 20 heading into the final round. She rolled in four birdies in her opening round, shooting a 2-over 74. A second-round 4-over 76 has her in a tie for 21st with a 6-over 150 (74=76).

Cathi Graf collected three birdies on the day is in a tie for 33rd after shooting a 10-over 154 (78-76) in her first two rounds.

True freshman Krystal Li is in a tie for 37th after shooting an 11-over 155 (76-79) in her first even competing with the team and not as an individual.

Competing as an individual in the event, true freshman Emily James was able to rebound from an opening-round 6-over 78, shooting a 2-over 74 in round two. James used her strong second round to shoot up the leaderboard into a tie for 26th with a two-round score of 8-over 152 (78-74).

The third and final round of the tournament is set for an 9:30 a.m. ET shotgun start on Tuesday morning.

Rutgers University Women's Golf /// Piscataway, N.J.

-RU-