Mandi Morrow

Morrow's career-best 68 leads Kent State; Hawe rebounds with even-par day

STANFORD, Calif. – The Kent State women's golf team had a solid team effort Sunday in the final round of the Stanford Intercollegiate, hosted by Stanford University at its home course.

The Golden Flashes combined for a one-over 285 to move up one position to finish eighth overall in the 16-team field, which included the three top ranked teams in the nation, six of the top 10, and 14 of the best 50 programs in the country.

"We played very well as a team this week on a challenging course against an equally-challenging field," said head coach Mike Morrow. "The team really started to gel this weekend, and I think with this finish, they have the confidence that they can compete with a very competitive field."

Senior Mandi Morrow (Kent, Ohio) saved her best for last, as she turned in a career-best three-under 68. After going one over through two with an early bogey, Morrow buckled down for four birdies, again gaining a stroke on the par-5 No. 12 for the second time in the tournament. She finished the tournament tied for 35^th with a four-over 217.

Steady efforts on Sunday by sophomore Erin Hawe (Walton, New Zealand) and senior Shamira Marshall (Macedonia, Ohio) were key to Kent State's strong team effort, as both shook off rough rounds earlier in the tournament. Hawe had three birdies to three bogeys for an even-par 71 on Sunday, while Marshall capped her round with a birdie on No. 18 to finish at one-over 72.

Although senior Mercedes Germino (Necochea, Argentina) shot a four-over 75 on Sunday and didn't score for Kent State, she did finish tied for 14^th overall with a one-under 212.

Freshman Jennifer Ha (Calgary, Alberta) started Sunday with nine consecutive pars before finishing with a three-over 74. For the tournament, Ha finished tied for 35^th overall with Morrow, finishing ahead of 11 golfers ranked in the top 100 nationally.

Top-ranked and defending national champion UCLA finished with a three-stroke victory over Vanderbilt to capture the team title. Washington's SooBin Kim shot a five-under 66 on Sunday to take individual medalist honors by two strokes.

Kent State will conclude the fall portion of the 2011-12 campaign when the Golden Flashes travel to Texas to take part in the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational Oct. 31 – Nov. 2 in Austin, Texas.