Saturday, April 5
Bowling Green, Ohio (Stone Ridge Golf Club)
9:30 a.m.
Central Michigan University
at
Dolores Black Falcon Invitational
CMU's Ella Zanatta shot an even-par 71 on Saturday during the first round of the Dolores Black Falcon Invitational in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Photo by: © Mogie Adamchik 2025
CMU's Zanatta Holds Share of the Lead Heading into Final Round
4/5/2025 7:09:00 PM | Women's Golf
Chippewas third after first round of chilly, wet Dolores Black Falcon Invitational
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Ella Zanatta shot an even-par 71 on Saturday to lead the Central Michigan women's golf team during the first round of the Dolores Black Falcon Invitational at Stone Ridge Golf Club.
Zanatta, a freshman, shares the lead heading into Sunday's 10 a.m. final round of the 36-hole event. She led the Chippewas to a 303 team score; they are in third place in the seven-team field.
The 71 tied Zanatta's career best score. In September, she also shot 71 in the season-opening A-Ga-Ming Invitational in Kewadin and in the Nittany Lion Invitational in University Park, Pa. Both of those 1-under par rounds came on par 72 layouts.
Saturday's round was played in difficult weather with temperatures in the 40s and rain throughout the day.
"Especially on a really bad weather day like this it's not easy to play your best golf down the stretch when you're freezing and everything's wet and it's getting colder and colder throughout the day," CMU coach Ryan Williams said.
"It's easy for your attitude and your mindset and your demeanor to go with that and she didn't let that happen. She was able to fight back and make some birdies down the stretch. Really impressive, really mature round from her."
Zanatta came on strong at the end, making birdies on three of her final four holes to get to even. She is tied with Cassie Psuik of Loyola-Chicago and Addison Kartusch of host Bowling Green. The Falcons' Macie Elzinga is one shot back.
"She wasn't making many putts early," Williams said of Zanatta, "but she stayed patient, and she didn't let that get to her, she didn't let that take her confidence away and she capitalized on some really good chances later on in the round.
"It was a good round especially under the circumstances."
CMU's Hailey Katona shot a 4-over 75 and is tied for eighth in the 43-player field. Also for the Chippewas, Alexis McMurray shot 78 and is tied for 22nd, Lauren Davis shot 79 and is tied for 25th, and Rachel Niskanen shot 81.
The Chippewas' Brooke Morris, a freshman, tied her career best with a 76; Lexi Schulman is tied for 22nd after a 78, and Evanka Shah shot 84.
Morris, Schulman and Shah are playing as individuals.
"It's good to see Lexi get another crack at a tournament and play pretty well," Williams said. "Brooke had a pretty solid day today and it's good to see her do that in a tournament.
"We showed a little depth today which is good. It muddies the water a little bit as a coach for making decisions going forward but, that's their job and I'm kind of happy to see that that's happening.
Bowling Green shot 292 on Saturday and leads the team standings by seven shots over second-place Oakland (299). The Chippewas trail the Golden Grizzlies by four shots and are one shot ahead of fifth-place Western Michigan (304).
The Chippewas' 303 was their best team score since they posted a 296 in the final round of the Rio Verde Collegiate in Arizona on Feb. 23, a stretch of five rounds. It tied for their fifth best score of the 23 they have recorded in the 2024-25 season.
"We hung in there as a group and kind of steadied the ship down the stretch and got it in better than we have in previous rounds," Williams said. "It was one of those days where you realize that if you hang in there and just keep battling that you can move your way up the leaderboard down the stretch.
"I think we left feeling like we didn't have that great of a day. We know we can be better and we're hungry to go play well (on Sunday) and I think we have a lot more to show ourselves from a good day tomorrow."
Zanatta, a freshman, shares the lead heading into Sunday's 10 a.m. final round of the 36-hole event. She led the Chippewas to a 303 team score; they are in third place in the seven-team field.
The 71 tied Zanatta's career best score. In September, she also shot 71 in the season-opening A-Ga-Ming Invitational in Kewadin and in the Nittany Lion Invitational in University Park, Pa. Both of those 1-under par rounds came on par 72 layouts.
Saturday's round was played in difficult weather with temperatures in the 40s and rain throughout the day.
"Especially on a really bad weather day like this it's not easy to play your best golf down the stretch when you're freezing and everything's wet and it's getting colder and colder throughout the day," CMU coach Ryan Williams said.
"It's easy for your attitude and your mindset and your demeanor to go with that and she didn't let that happen. She was able to fight back and make some birdies down the stretch. Really impressive, really mature round from her."
Zanatta came on strong at the end, making birdies on three of her final four holes to get to even. She is tied with Cassie Psuik of Loyola-Chicago and Addison Kartusch of host Bowling Green. The Falcons' Macie Elzinga is one shot back.
"She wasn't making many putts early," Williams said of Zanatta, "but she stayed patient, and she didn't let that get to her, she didn't let that take her confidence away and she capitalized on some really good chances later on in the round.
"It was a good round especially under the circumstances."
CMU's Hailey Katona shot a 4-over 75 and is tied for eighth in the 43-player field. Also for the Chippewas, Alexis McMurray shot 78 and is tied for 22nd, Lauren Davis shot 79 and is tied for 25th, and Rachel Niskanen shot 81.
The Chippewas' Brooke Morris, a freshman, tied her career best with a 76; Lexi Schulman is tied for 22nd after a 78, and Evanka Shah shot 84.
Morris, Schulman and Shah are playing as individuals.
"It's good to see Lexi get another crack at a tournament and play pretty well," Williams said. "Brooke had a pretty solid day today and it's good to see her do that in a tournament.
"We showed a little depth today which is good. It muddies the water a little bit as a coach for making decisions going forward but, that's their job and I'm kind of happy to see that that's happening.
Bowling Green shot 292 on Saturday and leads the team standings by seven shots over second-place Oakland (299). The Chippewas trail the Golden Grizzlies by four shots and are one shot ahead of fifth-place Western Michigan (304).
The Chippewas' 303 was their best team score since they posted a 296 in the final round of the Rio Verde Collegiate in Arizona on Feb. 23, a stretch of five rounds. It tied for their fifth best score of the 23 they have recorded in the 2024-25 season.
"We hung in there as a group and kind of steadied the ship down the stretch and got it in better than we have in previous rounds," Williams said. "It was one of those days where you realize that if you hang in there and just keep battling that you can move your way up the leaderboard down the stretch.
"I think we left feeling like we didn't have that great of a day. We know we can be better and we're hungry to go play well (on Sunday) and I think we have a lot more to show ourselves from a good day tomorrow."
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