College Sports
Kansas State University
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. – After going 8-under par over its second nine holes of the day, the Kansas State women’s golf team battled rainy conditions to turn in a first-round score of even-par 288 on Monday as the Wildcats are tied for second place in the 2025 NCAA Lexington Regional held at the par-72, 6,095-yard Keene […]
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. – After going 8-under par over its second nine holes of the day, the Kansas State women’s golf team battled rainy conditions to turn in a first-round score of even-par 288 on Monday as the Wildcats are tied for second place in the 2025 NCAA Lexington Regional held at the par-72, 6,095-yard Keene Trace Golf Club.
Starting on hole No. 10, the fifth-seeded Wildcats finished their first nine holes toward the bottom of the leaderboard at 8-over par, but 11 birdies over the final 9 holes of the day helped K-State even out its score and put the Cats in great position entering Tuesday’s second round.
“Although we stumbled a little bit over the starting line, the ladies kept their composure and fought right to the end of the round,” said head coach Stew Burke, whose squad leads the 12-team field with 17 birdies. “This format is a marathon, not a sprint, and you can really play your way out in that first round. Tomorrow is a moving day, where we hope to close the gap on the team ahead of us and pull away from those behind us. However, we will be focused on the task at hand, which is posting a great second-round score to put us in position for the final round.”
The Wildcats’ first-round score of 288 was their best ever in NCAA Regional play, nine shots better than the 297 that they put together during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Athens (Ga.) Regional.
K-State is tied with No. 6 seed Georgia Southern and trails top-seeded Florida State – the third-ranked team in the country – by seven shots. No. 2 seed USC is one shot back of the Wildcats and Eagles, and the Trojans are three shots clear of the fifth-place team, No. 3 seed TCU.
Junior Noa van Beek and senior Carla Bernat led the way for Kansas State on Monday as each posted a score of 2-under par 70 to begin postseason play in a tie for third place, and they also lead the 66-player field with five birdies apiece. The duo tied for the fourth-lowest individual round in K-State’s NCAA Regional history, only to be outdone by a pair of 69s by Bernat at last year’s NCAA Bryan (Texas) Regional and Miranda Smith’s round of 69 in the 2003 NCAA Central Regional.
A junior from Oene, Netherlands, van Beek went even par over her first nine holes before tallying birdies on Nos. 2, 4, 5 and 7 to produce her eighth under-par round this season. Bernat followed suit as she was 1-over par at the turn prior to birdies on Nos. 1, 5, 7 and 8 en route to her 23rd under-par round of the year.
Sophomore Alenka Navarro went bogey-free and 2-under par over her second nine holes as she is tied for 19th place at 1-over par 73. Two shots back and in a tie for 31st place is freshman Nanami Nakashima, who finished her second nine holes at 1-under par. Senior Sophie Bert is tied for 57th place at 8-over par 80.
Florida State’s Mirabel Ting – the top-ranked player in the country – holds a one-shot advantage on the individual leaderboard at 4-under par 68, just ahead of Western Kentucky’s Julia Zigrossi. USC’s Catherine Park, who ranks 20th nationally, is among four other players who are tied with Bernat and van Beek for third place.
Kansas State begins the second round of the 2025 NCAA Lexington Regional on Tuesday with tee times off No. 1 starting at 8 a.m. (ET), and the Wildcats are paired with USC and Georgia Southern. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd.
Starting on hole No. 10, the fifth-seeded Wildcats finished their first nine holes toward the bottom of the leaderboard at 8-over par, but 11 birdies over the final 9 holes of the day helped K-State even out its score and put the Cats in great position entering Tuesday’s second round.
“Although we stumbled a little bit over the starting line, the ladies kept their composure and fought right to the end of the round,” said head coach Stew Burke, whose squad leads the 12-team field with 17 birdies. “This format is a marathon, not a sprint, and you can really play your way out in that first round. Tomorrow is a moving day, where we hope to close the gap on the team ahead of us and pull away from those behind us. However, we will be focused on the task at hand, which is posting a great second-round score to put us in position for the final round.”
The Wildcats’ first-round score of 288 was their best ever in NCAA Regional play, nine shots better than the 297 that they put together during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Athens (Ga.) Regional.
K-State is tied with No. 6 seed Georgia Southern and trails top-seeded Florida State – the third-ranked team in the country – by seven shots. No. 2 seed USC is one shot back of the Wildcats and Eagles, and the Trojans are three shots clear of the fifth-place team, No. 3 seed TCU.
Junior Noa van Beek and senior Carla Bernat led the way for Kansas State on Monday as each posted a score of 2-under par 70 to begin postseason play in a tie for third place, and they also lead the 66-player field with five birdies apiece. The duo tied for the fourth-lowest individual round in K-State’s NCAA Regional history, only to be outdone by a pair of 69s by Bernat at last year’s NCAA Bryan (Texas) Regional and Miranda Smith’s round of 69 in the 2003 NCAA Central Regional.
A junior from Oene, Netherlands, van Beek went even par over her first nine holes before tallying birdies on Nos. 2, 4, 5 and 7 to produce her eighth under-par round this season. Bernat followed suit as she was 1-over par at the turn prior to birdies on Nos. 1, 5, 7 and 8 en route to her 23rd under-par round of the year.
Sophomore Alenka Navarro went bogey-free and 2-under par over her second nine holes as she is tied for 19th place at 1-over par 73. Two shots back and in a tie for 31st place is freshman Nanami Nakashima, who finished her second nine holes at 1-under par. Senior Sophie Bert is tied for 57th place at 8-over par 80.
Florida State’s Mirabel Ting – the top-ranked player in the country – holds a one-shot advantage on the individual leaderboard at 4-under par 68, just ahead of Western Kentucky’s Julia Zigrossi. USC’s Catherine Park, who ranks 20th nationally, is among four other players who are tied with Bernat and van Beek for third place.
Kansas State begins the second round of the 2025 NCAA Lexington Regional on Tuesday with tee times off No. 1 starting at 8 a.m. (ET), and the Wildcats are paired with USC and Georgia Southern. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd.