Women’s Golf Takes Fourth at Brittany Kelly Classic

Loyola women’s golf traveled to Muncie, Indiana to participate in the Brittany Kelly Classic hosted by Ball State University where they finished fourth overall out of 13 teams in their second tournament of the season. 

The Ramblers started off strong, recording a total of 604 strokes in the first two rounds, inching towards cross-city rival University of Illinois at Chicago who sat at 599 strokes in second place. 

Second-year Adie Maki led the Ramblers in the second round of day one, turning in the lowest single-round score of her career with 69 strokes. The round put Maki tied for fourth place, only two shots behind the individual lead. 

“I was really just trying to take it one shot at a time and every shot I got over, just playing to win on each shot — not playing to lose,” Maki said. “I think that mentality changes and remembering every shot, whether it’s for bogey or if it’s for double, they all matter the same.” 

Behind Maki were fourth-year Abby Thielbar, third-year Jolie Brochu and first-year Cassie Psuik who all placed in the top 25 with scores of 150 (75-75), 152 (74-78) and 153 (75-78) respectively. Third-year Cate Reisinger followed closely, finishing the day in 38th with a total of 156 (78-78). 

Head coach Brandy Johnston said the invitational was an improvement for the team compared to the Payne Stewart Invitational they attended Sept. 11-12 where they placed 13th out of 17 teams. Despite the success, Johnston said the team still needs to put work into their mental game.

“We had about three out of our six rounds where we had really good rounds going, and we kind of fell apart over the last six holes,” Johnston said. “I think that as a group, we need to work on making fewer mistakes down the stretch. If we can work on everything both physically and mentally, that will help us finish our rounds better and make fewer mental mistakes.” 

Maki was the highest finisher at the invitational for the Ramblers, placing in a tie for fifth with an overall score of 219 (76-69-74). Psuik tied for 20th place with a score of 228 (75-78-75). Both achieved the highest placements of their careers in Muncie.

Reisinger, Thielbar and first-year Grace Durkin all finished on the leaderboard with scores of 230 (78-78-74), 232 (75-75-82) and 239, respectively. Durkin, who finished tied for 60th, improved in every round (82-80-77).  

Johnston said Durkin’s growth and maturity has been prevalent throughout the season, specifically in this invitational.

“She showed a lot of poise and maturity and I think as she continues to grow and get used to life in college, she will be a good player for us,” Johnston said. “Her superpower is actually her strong mental game.” 

The Ramblers finished fourth overall with a total of 904 strokes, just inches behind Western Michigan University who placed third with 902 strokes. 

Ball State University took home the team win with a total of 875 strokes. University of Illinois at Chicago’s graduate student Dasa Urbankova won the individual race, shooting 211 across all rounds. 

Johnston said she is hopeful for the future rounds the team will play, improving on the mental and physical aspects of the game of golf. 

“We have really talented players and so cleaning up the mental side of our game will really help to improve their scores,” Johnston said. “If every player got two strokes better every round, that would make a difference for us.”

Loyola women’s golf can next be seen in Indianapolis where they take part in the Butler Fall Invitational hosted by Butler University Oct. 2-3. 

Featured image courtesy of Steve Woltmann | Loyola Athletics