Pikunas Wins First Tournament, Zips Climb to Third Overall at Cardinal Classic

Tuesday, September 19

The Players Club | Yorktown, IN

All Day

University of Akron

Ball State Cardinal Classic

Pikunas Wins First Tournament, Zips Climb to Third Overall at Cardinal Classic

September 19 | Women's Golf

Follow Zips Women's Golf on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram | Follow Coach King on Twitter

GolfStat: Live Scoring | Parings: Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | PDF Results

Yorktown, Ind. – Freshman Jacinta Pikunas (Youngstown, Ohio) earned medalist honors with a record-breaking 54-hole performance of 210 (-6) to lead the Akron women's golf team to a third place finish (883, +19) at the Ball State Cardinal Classic on Tuesday.

Weather delayed the start of the final round at the Par 72 Players Club Golf Course that stretches 6,204 yards. When play resumed, the Zips overcame an eight-stroke deficit to climbed two spots on the leaderboard on the strength of two solid performances by newcomers Abbie Pearce (Green, Ohio) and Pikunas. Pearce carded three birdies en route to a 1-under par 71 outing, while Pikunas turned in another even-par 72 scorecard with four birdies.

"We felt like we approached the day mentally prepared to battle any type of weather conditions," Zips' head coach Jenny King said. "The course played tougher overall today and we battled hard."

In her first 54-hole collegiate tournament, Pikunas was spectacular breaking three program records en route to her first collegiate win. Pikunus now owns the lowest 18-hole score (66, -6), lowest 36-hole total (138, -6), and the lowest 54-hole total (210, -6) records in program history. In total, Pikunas recorded 34 par scores, 13 birdies, and seven bogeys.

"I am extremely proud of the team's effort over the past two days and I'm very happy for Jacinta for winning her first college event," said King. "She played very steady and stayed focused for the majority of the tournament which was key."

Finishing second in tournament scoring for the Zips was junior Danielle Nicholson (Geneva, Ohio), who used a 3-over par 75 final round score to climb four spots on the leaderboard, finishing 12^th overall with a 221 (+5) total.

Senior Pader Her (Holt, Mich.) and sophomore Allyson Wentworth (Stewartsville, N.J.) rounded out Akron's scoring with 231 (+15) and 236 (+20) scores, respectively.

The Zips will be back in action in Vail, Colo. for a three-day Golfweek Conference Challenge event, starting Monday-Wednesday, September 25-27 at Red Sky Golf Club.

Top 5 Teams
1 Indianapolis, 283-286-294 – 863 (-1)
2 Bradley, 284-292-300 – 876 (+12)
3 Akron, 297-291-295 – 883 (+19)
4 Toledo, 291-289-306 – 886 (+22)
5 Southern Illinois, 297-289-303 – 889 (+25)

Top 10 Players
1 Jacinta Pikunas, Akron, 66-72-72 – 210 (-6)
T2 Kennedy Holtsclaw, Indianapolis, 73-68-75 – 216 (E)
T2 Pimchanok Kawil, Toledo, 71-71-74 – 216 (E)
T2 Pilar Echeverria, Indianapolis, 70-72-74 – 216 (E)
5 Kylie Raines, Indianapolis, 69-73-75 – 217 (+1)
6 Katharina Keilich, Indianapolis, 73-7-72 – 218 (+2)
7 Claire Hernandez Western Michigan, 70-74-75 – 219 (+3)
T8 Ally Scaccia, Bradley, 68 -74-78 – 220 (+4)
T8 Alex Krehbiel, Western Illinois, 74-71-75 – 220 (+4)
T8 Saranlak Tumfong, Toledo, 72-72-76 – 220 (+4)
T8 Emilyee McGiles, Southern Illinois, 73-73-74 – 220 (+4)

3 Akron, 297-291-295 – 883 (+19)
1 Jacinta Pikunas, 66-72-72 – 210 (-6)
T12 Danielle Nicholson, 76-70-75 – 221 (+5)
T20 Abbie Pearce, 75-76-71 – 222 (+6)
T51 Pader Her, 80-74-77 - 231 (+15)
T68 Allyson Wentworth, 81-75-80 – 236 (+20)