Kelsie Passolt
The NIU women’s golf team is seventh after one round of play Friday at the 2012 Mid-American Conference Women’s Golf Championships at Hawthorns Golf & Country Club in Fishers, Ind.
The Huskies shot an opening round 333 and are one shot ahead of Ohio (334) and two shots ahead of Bowling Green, which sits in ninth. Ball State leads the field after posting a 298, while Kent State is second after scoring a 301. Kent State’s Shamira Marshall leads the field with a first round 72.
Senior Kelsie Passolt (Hayward, Wis./Hayward) leads the way for the Huskies firing a first round, 78, nine strokes better than her final round score at The Preview in the fall. Passolt shot a 40 on the front nine, finishing strong on the back nine with a 38, paring the final four holes. She is 14th and is six shots off the lead.
“She had 26 puts today. She got up and down about 11 or 12 times,” NIU head coach Pam Tyska said. “She played very well. She had great course management, a lot of confidence in her shots. When she did hit an errant shot, she was able to get up and down.”
Jenny Niemiec (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) carded an 80 in her first MAC Championships round. The sophomore, who transferred to NIU from South Carolina where she did not golf competitively, sits in 21st place. Junior Allie Parthie (Marinette, Wis./Marinette) shot an 84 and sits in 35th.
“Jenny played well too,” Tyska said. “She had a great back nine and even with that, she could have had five or six less strokes. Allie is right in there. She’ll shave some strokes off her score tomorrow.”
Taylor Ellett (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) shot a 91 and is in 44th, while Allison Van Heuklom (Middleton, Wis./Middleton) sits in 45th after posting a 95 in her first round of play.
NIU returns to the course Saturday for second-round play in the championships. Van Heuklom will start things off for the Huskies at 7:30 a.m. Central Time. Passolt will be in the final threesome of the day, which tees off at 8:10 a.m. CT.
For more information on NIU women’s golf and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.
