SARTELL, Minn. – The Carleton College women's golf team prevailed at the season-opening CSB Invite, besting a pair of nationally-ranked squads and the rest of the 13-team field. Carter Sichol (Fy./Winnetka, Ill./New Trier) was the tournament medalist in her collegiate debut. She was 1 of 4 rookies in the Carleton lineup.
 
The Knights were listed under "others receiving votes" when the first WGCA Coaches Poll of the season was released on Friday. Four other MIAC squads were either nationally ranked or receiving votes as well, but Carleton bettered them all to came out on top this weekend.
 
The Knights fired a 314 on Saturday, good for a four-stroke lead over Bethel heading into the final round. Carleton followed that up with a tournament-best 309 on Sunday, good for a two-day total of 623. That put the Knights seven shots clear of No. 17 St. Catherine University, 10 in front of Bethel University (RV), 58 strokes ahead of No. 22 Gustavus Adolphus College, and 62 shots better than College of Saint Benedict (RV).
 
Individually, Sichol pulled away for a nine-stroke victory. She played both rounds at Blackberry Ridge Golf Course at even par (72-72=144), finishing the weekend with three birdies, three bogeys, and 30 pars.
 
Natalie Tatar (Fy./Denver, Colo./St. Mary's Academy) finished in a tie for seventh (80-79=159, +15) out of 80 players in the field. She capped her first collegiate tournament with a birdie on No. 18 on Sunday.
 
Cynthia Lu (Fy./Redmond, Wash./Redmond) totaled seven birdies on the weekend, tied for most in the field. That included four birdies over a seven-hole stretch in the final round. She tied with classmate Sarah Zheng (Fy./Bolingbrook, Ill./Neuqua Valley) for 11th place overall as both carded scores of 81 on Saturday and 79 on Sunday (160, +16).
 
Alyssa Soma (Jr./Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) was the lone veteran in the official lineup for the Knights. She finished in a tie for 37th place (82-92=174, +30) after birdies on three of the tournament's first 12 holes.
 
Olivia Siebert (So./Glencoe, Ill./New Trier) was one of three Knights to play the weekend as an individual entrant. She tied for 28th place (86-85=171, +27) after a pair of birdies on Sunday.
 
Mia Wang (So./Chengdu City, China/Gould Academy) and Taylor Kang (Jr./Pleasanton, Calif./The King's Academy PSP) also competed this weekend, placing 74th and 77th.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton heads the Wartburg Invite at Prairie Links Golf Course in Waverly, Iowa, on Sept. 10-11.