Youngstown State University
NCAA Regionals
Penguins Wrap Up Play At NCAA South Bend Regional
5/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
South Bend, Indiana - The Youngstown State women's golf team concluded play at the NCAA South Bend Regional on Saturday afternoon carding a final round 315. Leading the way on the final day were Emily Dixon and Aislynn Merling with a pair of 77's at the stout Warren Golf Course.
Winning the regional was Duke with a three-round total of 873. Advancing to the NCAA Championships with the Blue Devils are Wake Forest, UC Davis, Arizona, Tulane and Purdue.
Playing their final rounds for YSU on Sunday were Merling and Allison Mitzel, the two seniors for the program. Mitzel carded a 79 in her final collegiate round. In the individual standings, Merling was YSU's top finisher at 83rd (235) while Dixon was 86th (237), freshman Courtney Shutt was 92nd (241), Mitzel was 94th (242) and Emily Rohanna placed 96th (251).
For the tournament, YSU finished with a three-day total of 948. The Penguins had a strong first day with a 311 and had a nice bounce-back round of 315 today after firing a 322 yesterday in a round that took nearly nine hours to complete.
After some overnight rain in the South Bend area, the players came out to calm winds and overcast skies on Saturday. The first two days had seen sunny and windy conditions. On Saturday, occasional round also feel during the round before clearing up late in the day.
Merling came out strong with a pair of pars, including a great sand-save on the 11th hole, before birding No. 12, which on Saturday was the hardest hole on the golf course. She played the next three holes at four-over par, but was then steady throughout the rest of her round. Merling pared seven straight and 10 of the next holes. On the front side she had seven pars and just two bogeys.
Dixon was one-under par on her first eight holes in the final round. On the par-3 No. 14, she hit her tee shot right on line and it rolled to within 18 inches of the hole. She easy sank the birdie put and was cruising before a lost ball on 18 gave her a one-over par total on the back side. On the front nine she had five pars and four bogeys.
Mitzel was three over on the front nine and four over on the back for her round. Highlighting her final round as a Penguin was a birdie four on the par-5 second hole. She was even-par during a seven-hole stretch on her final round.
Rohanna closed out the tournament with an 82. Highlighting her final round was a birdie on the last hole, No. 9. She had a solid four-over par score on the final nine holes. Shutt closed out her first year with the program carding an 84. She had the lowest round of the tournament for YSU on Thursday with a 75.
