Northern Illinois University women’s golfer Lena Gautier finished in first place and was named co-champion of the Diane Thomason Invitational as the Huskies finished in sixth after the final round of play Sunday.
The sophomore from La Celle Saint Cloud, France finished with a 226 after following up here first day total of 151 with a final round 75. She tied with Illinois’ Dana Gattone as the tournament winner. Gautier is the first Huskie to win a tournament since Kim Hunley took first at the 2009 Huskie Classic.
“Overall, it was a great team effort,” Kim Kester said of the team’s performance. “The conditions were a lot better today than they were yesterday. There were more scoreable holes today Yesterday drained us pretty good. It was nice to see us rebound off a tough day like that and play extremely well.”
NIU posted the second lowest score of the day, shooting a 302 to finish the tournament with a 943, four shots out of fifth place and 22 shots behind team champion Illinois.
Junior Connie Ellett (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) and sophomore Sydney Brickey (Burtchville, Mich./Shattuck-St. Mary’s) made marked improvements on Sunday as both shot a final round 75. Ellett moved up three spots to 17th with a 235, while Brickey jumped 15 places to 26th with a 239.
Junior Samantha Coyne (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett) moved up five places to 43rd after her final round 77 helped to give her a three-round total of 243. Freshman Hayley Mortensen (Tualatin, Ore/Tualatin) carded a two-day total of 251 (84-83-84) to finish in 59th place.
The Huskies return to the course Friday, Oct. 17, to compete in the Hoosier Fall Invitational. Tee time is set for 8 a.m. CT. For more information on NIU women’s golf and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.