Central Michigan University Athletics
Sunday, April 6
Bowling Green, Ohio (Stone Ridge Golf Club)
10 a.m.
Central Michigan University
at
Dolores Black Falcon Invitational
CMU freshman Ella Zanatta (left) poses with Bowling Green coach Erin Fahey after Zanatta captured medalist honors at the Bowling Green Dolores Black Falcon Invitational on Sunday.
Zanatta Captures Medalist Honors at Dolores Black Falcon Invitational
4/6/2025 7:36:00 PM | Women's Golf
Chippewas close with 300 to finish second; Morris, Schulman record career bests
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Central Michigan's Ella Zanatta closed with her second consecutive even-par 71 on Sunday to finish with a 36-hole 142 total and capture medalist honors at the Dolores Black Falcon Invitational at Stone Ridge Golf Club.
Zanatta became the first Chippewa female golfer to win a tournament since Casilda Allendesalazar at the Nevel Meade Collegiate on March 21, 2023.
Zanatta, a freshman from Hamilton, Ont., tied for first last fall in her first collegiate tournament, the CMU-hosted A-Ga-Ming Invitational in Kewadin, but lost in a playoff for medalist honors.
Zanatta's 142, the second-lowest 36-hole total in program history, led the Chippewas to a runner-up finish in the seven-team field. CMU opened on Saturday with a 303 and then posted a 300 on Sunday for a 603 total.
Zanatta opened Sunday's final round at chilly Stone Ridge in a three-way tie for the lead with Cassie Psuik of Loyola-Chicago and Addison Kartusch of host Bowling Green.
She carded three bogeys and a birdie on her first four holes and then buried a 30-foot uphill right-hand breaking putt for a birdie on No. 7, a 300-yard par 4.
That gave her a shot of confidence and turn her round in her favor.
"Just seeing it go in center cup with the right speed, it just felt good to see that," Zanatta said. "To finally get that right line and see it go in just felt really good.
"I felt like I played (No. 7) well and it felt better to get in the swing of things and know that more birdies can come from that. I just tried to stay steady after that."
The remainder of her round consisted exclusively of pars, a solid showing on a wet golf course after Saturday's steady rain and temperatures in the 40s. The lone outlier was a birdie on the 418-yard par 4 11th.
Zanatta's twin 71s matched the 71s she shot earlier this season at A-Ga-Ming and at the Penn State Nittany Lion Invitational. Those two earlier rounds came on par 72 tracks under ideal late-summer conditions.
"I never check the scoreboard when I'm out there," she said. "I just wanted pars and I played very safe, middle of the green; I wasn't trying to do anything crazy and I was just hitting greens and two-putting and I think I kept my momentum going as I kept seeing pars.
"I had no clue on the back the whole day where I was standing and I just kept thinking that even (par) in this weather is good. Just keep it going and I just tried to do the best I could with the safe golf I was playing."
Zanatta made six birdies and six bogeys over her 36 holes, tying for second in the field in both categories. She had 24 pars, the third highest total and won by two shots over Bowling Green's Sammie Dolcie, who closed with a tournament-low 69 for a 144 total.
The Chippewas entered the final round in third place, four behind second-place Oakland. Their 300 allowed them to step past the Golden Grizzlies, who posted a 310 team total on Sunday.
Bowling Green closed with a 294 to win the tournament with 586.
"I think there's a lot of positives to take away from the last two days," CMU coach Ryan Williams said. "Everyone battled all the way through the finish line which isn't easy to do on cold, wet days when not everything's going your way. We moved up the leaderboard at the end of each day and that's a good thing, it shows a lot.
"There were some good individual performances and there were some kids who got opportunities this weekend that played pretty well and I'm happy to see that from them."
Among them were freshman Brooke Morris and sophomore Lexi Schulman, both of whom played the tournament as individuals.
Both shot a career-best 3-over 74 on Sunday. Morris (150) finished tied for ninth and Schulman (152) finished 14th in the 43-player field.
The respective 36-hole totals were career bests for both players.
Also for the Chippewas on Sunday, Hailey Katona shot 76, Alexis McMurray posted a 78, Rachel Niskanen shot 75, and Lauren Davis carded an 81. CMU's Evanka Shah, also playing as an individual, shot 82.
Niskanen started the day tied for 28th after an opening-round 81 and finished tied for 19th, tying with Loyola-Chicago's Grace Hui for the biggest move on the final day of the tournament.
Katona finished tied for 11th with a 151 total, while McMurray (156) finished among the group at 19th.
Zanatta became the first Chippewa female golfer to win a tournament since Casilda Allendesalazar at the Nevel Meade Collegiate on March 21, 2023.
Zanatta, a freshman from Hamilton, Ont., tied for first last fall in her first collegiate tournament, the CMU-hosted A-Ga-Ming Invitational in Kewadin, but lost in a playoff for medalist honors.
Zanatta's 142, the second-lowest 36-hole total in program history, led the Chippewas to a runner-up finish in the seven-team field. CMU opened on Saturday with a 303 and then posted a 300 on Sunday for a 603 total.
Zanatta opened Sunday's final round at chilly Stone Ridge in a three-way tie for the lead with Cassie Psuik of Loyola-Chicago and Addison Kartusch of host Bowling Green.
She carded three bogeys and a birdie on her first four holes and then buried a 30-foot uphill right-hand breaking putt for a birdie on No. 7, a 300-yard par 4.
That gave her a shot of confidence and turn her round in her favor.
"Just seeing it go in center cup with the right speed, it just felt good to see that," Zanatta said. "To finally get that right line and see it go in just felt really good.
"I felt like I played (No. 7) well and it felt better to get in the swing of things and know that more birdies can come from that. I just tried to stay steady after that."
The remainder of her round consisted exclusively of pars, a solid showing on a wet golf course after Saturday's steady rain and temperatures in the 40s. The lone outlier was a birdie on the 418-yard par 4 11th.
Zanatta's twin 71s matched the 71s she shot earlier this season at A-Ga-Ming and at the Penn State Nittany Lion Invitational. Those two earlier rounds came on par 72 tracks under ideal late-summer conditions.
"I never check the scoreboard when I'm out there," she said. "I just wanted pars and I played very safe, middle of the green; I wasn't trying to do anything crazy and I was just hitting greens and two-putting and I think I kept my momentum going as I kept seeing pars.
"I had no clue on the back the whole day where I was standing and I just kept thinking that even (par) in this weather is good. Just keep it going and I just tried to do the best I could with the safe golf I was playing."
Zanatta made six birdies and six bogeys over her 36 holes, tying for second in the field in both categories. She had 24 pars, the third highest total and won by two shots over Bowling Green's Sammie Dolcie, who closed with a tournament-low 69 for a 144 total.
The Chippewas entered the final round in third place, four behind second-place Oakland. Their 300 allowed them to step past the Golden Grizzlies, who posted a 310 team total on Sunday.
Bowling Green closed with a 294 to win the tournament with 586.
"I think there's a lot of positives to take away from the last two days," CMU coach Ryan Williams said. "Everyone battled all the way through the finish line which isn't easy to do on cold, wet days when not everything's going your way. We moved up the leaderboard at the end of each day and that's a good thing, it shows a lot.
"There were some good individual performances and there were some kids who got opportunities this weekend that played pretty well and I'm happy to see that from them."
Among them were freshman Brooke Morris and sophomore Lexi Schulman, both of whom played the tournament as individuals.
Both shot a career-best 3-over 74 on Sunday. Morris (150) finished tied for ninth and Schulman (152) finished 14th in the 43-player field.
The respective 36-hole totals were career bests for both players.
Also for the Chippewas on Sunday, Hailey Katona shot 76, Alexis McMurray posted a 78, Rachel Niskanen shot 75, and Lauren Davis carded an 81. CMU's Evanka Shah, also playing as an individual, shot 82.
Niskanen started the day tied for 28th after an opening-round 81 and finished tied for 19th, tying with Loyola-Chicago's Grace Hui for the biggest move on the final day of the tournament.
Katona finished tied for 11th with a 151 total, while McMurray (156) finished among the group at 19th.
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