FARIBAULT, Minn. – Entering Sunday's final round tied for the lead, the Carleton women's golf team ran away from the field to claim victory at the Carleton Fall Invitational, hosted at Legacy Golf Club. The Knights defeated 16th-ranked St. Catherine, Saint Benedict, who received votes in the preseason WGCA top-25 poll, and St. Olaf.
After carding a 31-over-par 323 in Saturday's opening round, Carleton came back to post a 13-over-par 301 as a team on Sunday. That total gave the Knights a two-round total of 624 (+44) for the tournament and was 13 shots better than second-place St. Catherine, who registered 314 strokes (+16) on Sunday for a weekend total of 637 (+57).
The Knights were led by senior
Carter Sichol. After claiming the first-round lead on the individual leaderboard, Sichol finished in style on Sunday. The Winnetka, Ill., native capped the weekend with the only round under par, carding a one-under 71 to give her a two-round total of 149 (+4). On Sunday, she birdied three of the four par-fives and finished with four birdies in total to take the individual crown.
Fellow senior
Cynthia Lu followed with a solo third place finish. Lu carded a final round 75 (+3) to cap her weekend with 159 total strokes (+9). She finished on the heels of Caylin Cantwell of St. Catherine, who finished just two strokes in front of Lu. The Redmond, Wash., native was consistent throughout Sunday's round, carding just one birdie, but posting 13 pars.
Junior
Mindy Zhai finished just one stroke behind Lu for a solo fourth finish. Zhai followed up Saturday's 79 (+6) with a four-over-par 76 on Sunday. Zhai, who played as an individual this weekend, used a near-perfect back nine to capture a top-5 finish. The Winter Garden, Fla., native came home with a one-under 35 over the final nine holes thanks to a birdie and eight pars.
Senior
Sarah Zheng also shot a four-over 76 in Sunday's final round and as a result climbed two spots on the leaderboard to finish seventh. Zheng posted a pair of birdies on the opening nine holes and was one-under par through the first seven. She made the turn at even par and came home in 40 for the weekend-closing 76 to give her a total of 158 (+13).
Senior Natalie Tater carded a seven-over-par 79 on Sunday to give her a weekend total of 166 (+21) and finish alone in 13th. First-year
Kate Yi turned in a nine-over 81 Sunday to finish one spot ahead of Tater in 12th at +19 for the weekend (164). Sophomore
Anna Lee was the final Knight to compete, posting a 12-over 84 on Sunday to match her Saturday score and end up with 168 strokes (+23) in 15th.
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will be back in action next weekend when the Knights travel to Palm Desert, California to compete in the NCAA National Preview, hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday and Sunday.
