MANHATTAN, Kan. – Rutgers women's golf finished in fourth place at the 2023 Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitation on Tuesday afternoon.
The Scarlet Knights secured their best team finish of the season thanks to a pair of top-11 finishes from
Rikke Nordvik (t-7) and
Lorena Rossettin (t-11) at Colbert Hills Golf Club.
"Again at this event we had good stretches of individual play. It was great to have both Rikke and Lorena put together three solid rounds for us," head coach
Kari Williams said. "Today was a day to appreciate the hard-fought pars with how challenging the wind made the course play. We have two weeks before our last event down at Delaware. I expect that the team will be prepared and ready to compete for a win to finish the season."
2023 Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational: Final Results
October 2-3, 2023
Colbert Hills Golf Club (Manhattan, Kan.)
Par 72 | 6,367 yards
Weather: Cloudy, Temps in Low-80's, 15-20 mph winds
| 4 |
Rutgers |
298 |
295 |
308 |
901 |
| Place |
Name |
Round 1 |
Round 2 |
Round 3 |
Tournament |
| T7 |
Rikke Nordvik |
73 (+1) |
71 (-1) |
75 (+3) |
219 (+3) |
| T11 |
Lorena Rossettin |
75 (+3) |
72 (E) |
76 (+4) |
223 (+7) |
| T28 |
Leigha Devine |
74 (+2) |
76 (+4) |
80 (+8) |
230 (+14) |
| T32 |
Cathi Graf |
78 (+6) |
76 (+4) |
77 (+5) |
231 (+15) |
| 50 |
Krystal Li |
76 (+4) |
79 (+7) |
83 (+11) |
238 (+22) |
| T21* |
Emily James* |
78 (+6)* |
74 (+2)* |
75 (+3) |
227 (+11)* |
* – Competing as individual
Nordvik was able to secure her first top-10 finish of the season, thanks to a strong finishing effort on Tuesday. Starting her round on hole No. 6, Nordvik closed strong with birdies on holes No. 1 and 4 to shoot a 3-over 75 in her final round. She paced RU with the team's lowest score in all three rounds, finishing in a tie for 7th place with a 3-over 219 (73-71-75).
"Conditions were definitely tougher today with the high winds," Nordvik said. "I did my best to stay calm and to avoid big mistakes. I feel good about my game being back on track. As a team, we are ready to work hard the next few weeks to finish the season on a high note."
True freshman
Lorena Rossettin provided more strong play for the Scarlet Knights, finishing just one stroke off the top 10. She added two more birdies in her final round, bringing her total for the week up to five and finishing t-11 with a 7-over 223 (75-72-76). Rossettin led the field in par-3 scoring, with an average score of 2.83, making her the only one to play them under par.
Leigha Devine rolled in two birdies on the back nine on Tuesday, finishing her tournament with an 8-over 80. She finished in a tie for 28th with a 14-over 230 (74-76-80).
Cathi Graf finished one stroke behind Devine, shooting a 15-over 231 (78-76-77).
True freshman
Krystal Li made her Rutgers debut competing with the team and finished the tournament in 50th place with a 22-over 238 (76-79-83).
RU's third true freshman in the event was
Emily James, who competed as an individual. James had a very strong showing in just her second collegiate appearance, finishing in a tie for 21st. She had multiple birdies in all three rounds and finished the tournament with three birdies in her final round. With seven birdies on the week, James was able to shoot an 11-over 227 (78-74-75) to finish just outside the top 20.
Rutgers wraps up its fall season later this month at the Lady Blue Hen Invitational, hosted by Delaware from Oct. 21-22 at Rehoboth Beach Country Club in Delaware.
Rutgers University Women's Golf /// Piscataway, N.J.
-RU-
