Akron Finishes Fifth Overall at MAC Match Play Challenge

Tuesday, February 6

Lakewood Ranch Golf Club | Lakewood Ranch, FL

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University of Akron

MAC Match Play Challenge

Photo by: Ernie Aranyosi

Akron Finishes Fifth Overall at MAC Match Play Challenge

February 06 | Women's Golf

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Lakewood Ranch, Fla. – The Akron women's golf team posted two wins on the final day of the Mid-American Conference Match Play Challenge to finish fifth overall at the 6,068-yard, Par-72 Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club.

After advancing to the Tuesday afternoon match with a 4-1 win over host Bowling Green, Akron used three 4&3 wins to defeat Ohio 3-1-1. Kent State claimed the tournament title with a 3&2 win over Florida Gulf Coast.

Junior Danielle Nicholson (Geneva, Ohio) posted three wins at the tournament, including two on the final day of competition. Nicholson won both of Tuesday's matches with a 4&3 score. Nicholson controlled the afternoon round from the beginning, earning the first two holes and never looked back. By the turn, Nicholson established a three-hole advantage and tacked on a hole before shortening the round for the Bobcats' Lily Pendy.

Sophomore Allyson Wentworth (Stewartsville, N.J.) bounced back from an early morning defeat to win 4&3 over Ohio's Ashley Flynn. After the first hole the match was all-square, but Wentworth changed that on hole No. 2. She did not stop there as she won three consecutive holes for a commanding three-hole advantage. She pushed the lead to four before the turn and cruised to the win. The victory marked her second of the competition.

Rounding out the 4&3 scorers was senior Pader Her (Holt, Mich.). Her also ran out to an early lead, building a three-hole advantage by the fifth hole. OU's Emily Hughes cut the lead to one stroke, but Her quickly pushed the lead back to three holes, and eventually won by three holes.

Freshman Abbie Pearce (Green, Ohio) played OU's Marissa Balish to an all-squared result, while freshman Jacinta Pikunas (Youngstown, Ohio) fell 2&1 to Nicole Smiley.

Earlier in the day, the Akron women's golf team posted a 4-1 win over host Bowling Green.

Four Zips posted wins as Nicholson led the way with her second win of the tournament, a 5&4 victory over Nichole Cox. Nicholson and Cox played even through the first four holes before Nicholson won four straight holes to finish the first nine. Two holes later, on No. 2, Nicholson increased the lead to five and held on to the lead for the next three consecutive holes before the match ended.

Pearce followed with a 4&3 win for Akron. She defeated Jessica Madry by taking a 1up lead on the first hole and winning back-to-back holes for a four-hole advantage. Pearce kept the lead throughout the remainder of the round.

Also scoring for the Zips were Pikunas and Her. Pikunas won 3&2 over Erin Fahey while Her defeated Samantha Blackburn 1up.

Pikunas came back from two holes down to post the three-hole win. Four holes into the match Pikunas was staring at the two-hole deficit until she won consecutive holes to square the match. The stalemate lasted for one additional hole before Pikunas grabbed the lead. She won the following hole to go 2up and increased the lead to three holes with two left to play.

Her also fell behind by one hole as the round began. By the fourth hole, the match was all-square. Her established an advantage on the fifth hole, but the match became square again. Her claimed her final lead of the round with six holes left to play. She led by as many as two before the round ended.

BGSU's Sarah Kern defeated Akron's Wentworth 4&2.

The Zips will be back in action on Friday through Sunday, Feb. 23-25, at the Rio Verde Invitational in Rio Verde, Ariz. at the Quail Run Golf Club.