Golfers Make A Charge, Finish Second At EMU

Tuesday, October 5

Ypsilanti, Mich. / Eagle Crest GC

9 a.m.

Central Michigan University

Shirley Spork Invitational

10/5/2021 3:56:00 PM | Women's Golf

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

YPSILANTI, Mich. – Central Michigan made a charge; host Eastern Michigan cracked open the door.

In the end, neither development was quite enough for the Chippewa women's golf team to overcome a nine-stroke deficit in the final round at the Shirley Spork EMU Invitational on Tuesday at Eagle Crest Golf Club.

The Chippewas closed with a 305 team score to finish at 901, two shots behind the host Eagles (899) in the 54-hole, 11-team event that included six Mid-American Conference teams. CMU opened the tournament on Monday with a 297 and then posted a second-round 299 on Monday afternoon.

Eastern Michigan shot 290-297-312. CMU's 901 total ties for the second best 54-hole total in program history.

"Today conditions were a lot tougher," CMU coach Jim Earle said. "We got some rain last night and again in the morning right before we teed off. The rough was brutal and the wind was blowing.

"We played well; we just didn't play well enough to come home with the victory. At one point we had caught them. With about five holes to go, we were tied, and we just came up a little short on the greens. That was the difference."

CMU finished 12 shots ahead of third-place Akron (913). The Chippewas were vying to win for the third time in three starts this season. The second-place finish is their best at EMU's annual event.

Finishing ahead of Akron is quite an accomplishment for CMU, Earle said. The Zips were third last spring in the MAC Championships (CMU was 10^th) and had won each of their previous two tournaments, one at Youngstown State and the other at Ball State.

"They're a pretty doggone good golf team," Earle said. "I'm not positive, but I don't think we had ever beaten Akron in school history, and we beat them fairly handedly in this tournament."

Ashley Goh shot a 2-over 74 to lead the Chippewas in Tuesday's final round and Zoe Vartyan closed with a 5-over 77 to finish at 8-over 224 and tied for seventh in the 69-player field. CMU's Casilda Allendesalazar and Claudia Salvador also shot 77 on Tuesday, while Padgett Chitty carded a 79.

Allendesalazar finished at 9-over 225 to tie for ninth; Salvador tied for 15^th at 11-over 227; Goh finished at 12-over 228 and tied for 18^th; and Chitty came in at 14-over 230 and tied for 22^nd.

It was Vartyan's second top-10 finish in CMU's three fall events. Allendesalazar, a freshman, has finished first, fourth and ninth in her three tournaments as a Chippewa.

"Zoe played really well this week and that'll go a long way for her confidence," Earle said.

CMU's Mackenzie Baustad, playing as an individual, also closed with a 77 for a 10-over 226 and a tie for 12^th place. Two other Chippewas, Rachel Kauflin and Ashley Liles, also played in the tournament as individuals. Kauflin shot 81 on Tuesday to finish at 235 and tied for 32^nd, while Liles shot 83 for a 249 total.

Alissa Fish of Western Michigan shot a 2-under 70 on Tuesday to finish at 6-under 210 and earn medalist honors.

The Chippewas are scheduled to play next week at the Rocket Classic, hosted by Toledo at Catawba Island Club Golf Course in Port Clinton, Ohio.

"We feel good about ourselves after this event," Earle said. "It really was a two-horse race when it came down to today and we just came up a few strokes short to a really, really good golf team."