BEAUMONT, Texas – No. 24-ranked Midwestern State posted the lowest score in all three rounds at Beaumont Country Club and won the Cardinal Challenge by 21 strokes for its second consecutive tournament title. Mary Kerr won the individual title, defeating her teammate Romane Lacoste by three strokes.
Kerr shot 6-over 222 and won her first individual trophy after finishing as the runner-up at the Hardscrabble Invitational in Fort Smith, Arkansas, which Midwestern State won last week.
The sophomore from Friendswood, Texas, carded a 4-over 76 in the final round after posting back-to-back rounds of 1-over 73 on Monday. Kerr had five of the Mustangs' 33 birdies through three rounds, which was the second highest team total in the tournament.
Incarnate Wood, which finished in second place, had 35 birdies over the 54-hole tournament and finished as the runner-up in the five-team tournament at 51-over 915.
Lacoste shot 3-over 75 in the final round to finish as the runner-up at 9-over, coming off a third-place finish at Hardscrabble. It is the third consecutive top-10 result for the junior from France, and she has four straight top 15 results.
Alli Reily finished in a three-way tie for third place at 11-over after shooting 9-over 81 in the final round. The senior from Pottsboro, Texas, was tied with Victoria Bauer of Incarnate Word and Karolina Krasnova of Lamar, which hosted the tournament and finished in third place at 68-over par.
Reily birdied the par-5, 415-yard eighth hole for the second time in the tournament and finished with nine birdies during the tournament.
Senior Kodi Nolen shot a 6-over 78 in the final round and finished tied for sixth place with Isabella Saenz of Incarnate Word at 12-over par. Nolen birdied the par-5, 525-yard ninth hole in all three rounds and had seven total birdies over the three rounds.
Junior Madison Wert, one of three Mustangs competing as an individual in the 29-player field, finished in 17th place at 22-over.
Freshman Samantha Truong carded a 6-over 78 in the final round and finished tied for 21st place at 26-over.
Freshman Kaetie Samuels opened with a 4-over 76 on Monday but finished the tournament at 28-over and tied for 23rd place.
Midwestern State will next compete April 13-15 in the Lone Star Conference Championships at Rockwall Golf & Athletic Club.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
