Chippewas Close Outstanding Fall Slate With 5th-Place Finish

Monday, October 22

Evansville, IN

Central Michigan University

Charles Braun Jr. Intercollegiate (Oak Meadow CC)

CMU sophomore Rachel Leucuta shot a career-best 77 on Tuesday in the final round of the Charles Braun Jr. Intercollegiate in Evansville, Ind.

Photo by: Mary Lewandowski

Chippewas Close Outstanding Fall Slate With 5th-Place Finish

10/23/2018 10:21:00 PM | Women's Golf

Leader Board Individual Scores

Colosky places 8th, two others tie for 11th as CMU posts 4th-straight top-5 finish

By: Andy Sneddon

Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Holly Hines shot 78 and Jami Laude posted a 79 on Tuesday in leading the Central Michigan golf team to a fifth-place finish in the Charles Braun Jr. Intercollegiate at Oak Meadows Country Club.

It marked the final event of the fall portion of CMU's schedule. The fifth-place finish was CMU's fourth consecutive top five, a remarkable accomplishment considering that the program had turned in just one top-five team finish coming into the fall slate. The program is midway through its fifth season since it resurrection before the 2014-15 season.

The Chippewas, who posted a 323 team score in Monday's opening round, came in at 322 on Tuesday to finish with a 36-hole 645 total, 15 shots behind tournament champion Indiana-Purdue-Indianapolis.

The field comprised 13 teams. Southern Illinois (635) was second, followed by Indiana State (636), Illinois State (643) and CMU. The Chippewas began Tuesday's round in fifth place.

"It was tough, it wasn't smooth going out there," CMU coach Jim Earle said. "If you got the ball on the wrong side of the hole, it was difficult not to make a big number. We never threw in the towel and I was really pleased with the way they grinded to post a number. When you don't have your best stuff on a golf course like that it can jump up and get you."

CMU senior Bria Colosky shot 81 to finish with a 158 total and in eighth place in the 80-player field. It marked Colosky's third top 10 of the season and second in as many tournaments. She was second a week ago at the Mid-American Conference Fall Preview in Noblesville, Ind.

Laude's 79 and Hines' 78 gave both a 160 total as they finished among a group of six players tied for 11^th. Laude began the day tied for 21^st, while Hines was in 27^th after the first round.

Also for the Chippewas on Tuesday, sophomore left-hander Rachel Leucuta, playing as an individual, shot a career-best 77 to finish among a group tied for 17^th at 161. Leucuta was the biggest mover among CMU players, as she improved her standing by 21 spots from the first round to the second.

"Rachel, she played well today," Earle said. "That's a tough golf course for left-handers. It just does not set up for them. That 77 was a really good score today."

CMU's Meghan Deardorff posted an 84 on Tuesday to finish with a 167 total and among a group tied for 37^th, while Danielle Sawyer shot 88 and to finish at 172.

"You've got to take a positive out of everything, for sure," Earle said. "Holding that fifth place is a positive. We were behind the 8-ball; we started off really poorly and grinded our way back into it. All in all we're not driving home too terribly disappointed."

IUPUI's Marion DeBove shot 76 on Monday to claim tournament medalist honors with a 2-over 146. Caitlin Sims of Illinois State and IUPUI's Amelie Svejda finished tied for second at 8-over.

With the fall season behind them, the Chippewas can look optimistically to the spring season, which begins in mid-February with the MAC Match Play Challenge in Florida. The program grew by leaps and bounds through the five-tournament fall campaign, shattering every team scoring record on the books and establishing themselves among the upper tier of the MAC.

"Just getting the sense of where the program was and what they had done in the past, we started to get excited about each and every event and hopefully we continue that outlook into the spring," said Earle, who was named the Chippewas' coach in August.

After opening with a 14^th-place finish in the 16-team Ball State Cardinal Classic in mid-September, CMU posted two third-place finishes, a fourth, and a fifth in its final five events.

"To have (those finishes) for a program that (previously) struggled to finish out of the bottom, it's very encouraging and pretty uplifting," Earle said. "We're going to be looking towards the spring and getting back out there and continue that success.

"We don't think it's mission accomplished by any means, but we do feel very encouraged and proud of what we've done."