College Sports
Kansas State University
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Playing in the first NCAA Championship in program history, the Kansas State women’s golf team was unable to produce another low round to survive the 54-hole cut on Sunday, but sophomore Alenka Navarro and senior Carla Bernat advanced as individuals to Monday’s final round at the par-72, 6,330-yard Omni La Costa Resort […]
CARLSBAD, Calif. – Playing in the first NCAA Championship in program history, the Kansas State women’s golf team was unable to produce another low round to survive the 54-hole cut on Sunday, but sophomore Alenka Navarro and senior Carla Bernat advanced as individuals to Monday’s final round at the par-72, 6,330-yard Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
Following a round of 12-over par 890 on Sunday, the Wildcats finished in a tie for 19th place at 26-over par 890, eight shots below the 54-hole cutline of 15 teams. The Wildcats and Demon Decans finished five shots ahead of 21st-place Kansas. Navarro and Bernat were able to advance to Monday’s final round by virtue of being two of the top nine individuals on non-advancing teams.
“I think the last two days showed some of the stuff we need to clean up and the things we need to get better at, especially at the highest level,” head coach Stew Burke said. “You’re not going to get away with those mistakes. But, what a great season. I am really, really proud. It was looking as though we had a shot with a few holes to go. The most important thing is just keeping our fans happy.”
The Wildcats closed out the 2024-25 campaign by ranking first in program history in team scoring average (288.13) in addition to rounds (38) and tournaments (13) played. Additionally, 10 of the lowest 17 team rounds in school history and seven of the lowest 11 team 54-hole scores have come this season. On the individual front, seven of the top 17 rounds and six of the top 10 individual 54-hole scores were obtained this season.
Bernat led the Wildcats on Sunday by posting a score of 1-over par 73. After starting with a bogey and double bogey on the first two holes, the Castellon, Spain, native parred the rest of the front 9 before going bogey-free and 2-under par on the back 9. She enters Monday’s final round tied for 37th place at 3-over par 219.
Navarro finished Sunday’s round one shot back of Bernat, going 1-over par on each side. Overall, the Mexico City native is one shot ahead of Bernat as she is tied for 28th place at 2-over par 218.
“Both of those ladies did great to get to the fourth round,” Burke said. “Obviously we wanted to get there as a team, but two out of five isn’t bad. To be honest, it really is a changing of the guard. Carla has done so much for us the last two years. She had taken Alenka under her wing and shown her what it takes to be a high-class player. Tomorrow, they will go head to head in Carla’s final round. So that’s kind of cool for me to see. The future is bright.”
Senior Sophie Bert, junior Noa van Beek and freshman Nanami Nakashima each saw their seasons come to an end as they tied for 124th place at 15-over par 231. A native of Oene, Netherlands, van Beek had her best round of the weekend at 2-over par 74 with four birdies on the day. Bert played her final 18 collegiate holes at 7-over par 79, while Nakashima finished the day at 9-over par 81.
Bert, a former East Tennessee State transfer who became the first individual conference champion in program history, finished her lone season at K-State with a 73.39 scoring average to rank fourth in school history. Nakashima finished at 73.95 during her initial collegiate campaign to rank 10th in school history. van Beek will enter her senior campaign ranked fourth in school history with a career 74.47 scoring average.
The top-ranked team in the country, Stanford, held on to its 36-hole lead and is 15 shots clear of the next best team, Northwestern, as the Cardinal enters Monday’s final round at 23-under par 841. Stanford is in position to be the No. 1 seed once match play begins on Tuesday as the top eight teams after Monday’s final round of stroke play will advance to the match-play portion of the championship.
Arkansas’ Maria Jose Marin posted a score of 7-under par 65 on Sunday to improve 11 spots on the individual leaderboard. She enters the final round of stroke play at 9-under par 207, one shot ahead of Stanford’s Paula Martin Sampedro.
Navarro and Bernat will begin Monday’s final round off the 10th tee at 12:51 p.m. and 1:12 p.m. (PT), respectively. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd.
Following a round of 12-over par 890 on Sunday, the Wildcats finished in a tie for 19th place at 26-over par 890, eight shots below the 54-hole cutline of 15 teams. The Wildcats and Demon Decans finished five shots ahead of 21st-place Kansas. Navarro and Bernat were able to advance to Monday’s final round by virtue of being two of the top nine individuals on non-advancing teams.
“I think the last two days showed some of the stuff we need to clean up and the things we need to get better at, especially at the highest level,” head coach Stew Burke said. “You’re not going to get away with those mistakes. But, what a great season. I am really, really proud. It was looking as though we had a shot with a few holes to go. The most important thing is just keeping our fans happy.”
The Wildcats closed out the 2024-25 campaign by ranking first in program history in team scoring average (288.13) in addition to rounds (38) and tournaments (13) played. Additionally, 10 of the lowest 17 team rounds in school history and seven of the lowest 11 team 54-hole scores have come this season. On the individual front, seven of the top 17 rounds and six of the top 10 individual 54-hole scores were obtained this season.
Bernat led the Wildcats on Sunday by posting a score of 1-over par 73. After starting with a bogey and double bogey on the first two holes, the Castellon, Spain, native parred the rest of the front 9 before going bogey-free and 2-under par on the back 9. She enters Monday’s final round tied for 37th place at 3-over par 219.
Navarro finished Sunday’s round one shot back of Bernat, going 1-over par on each side. Overall, the Mexico City native is one shot ahead of Bernat as she is tied for 28th place at 2-over par 218.
“Both of those ladies did great to get to the fourth round,” Burke said. “Obviously we wanted to get there as a team, but two out of five isn’t bad. To be honest, it really is a changing of the guard. Carla has done so much for us the last two years. She had taken Alenka under her wing and shown her what it takes to be a high-class player. Tomorrow, they will go head to head in Carla’s final round. So that’s kind of cool for me to see. The future is bright.”
Senior Sophie Bert, junior Noa van Beek and freshman Nanami Nakashima each saw their seasons come to an end as they tied for 124th place at 15-over par 231. A native of Oene, Netherlands, van Beek had her best round of the weekend at 2-over par 74 with four birdies on the day. Bert played her final 18 collegiate holes at 7-over par 79, while Nakashima finished the day at 9-over par 81.
Bert, a former East Tennessee State transfer who became the first individual conference champion in program history, finished her lone season at K-State with a 73.39 scoring average to rank fourth in school history. Nakashima finished at 73.95 during her initial collegiate campaign to rank 10th in school history. van Beek will enter her senior campaign ranked fourth in school history with a career 74.47 scoring average.
The top-ranked team in the country, Stanford, held on to its 36-hole lead and is 15 shots clear of the next best team, Northwestern, as the Cardinal enters Monday’s final round at 23-under par 841. Stanford is in position to be the No. 1 seed once match play begins on Tuesday as the top eight teams after Monday’s final round of stroke play will advance to the match-play portion of the championship.
Arkansas’ Maria Jose Marin posted a score of 7-under par 65 on Sunday to improve 11 spots on the individual leaderboard. She enters the final round of stroke play at 9-under par 207, one shot ahead of Stanford’s Paula Martin Sampedro.
Navarro and Bernat will begin Monday’s final round off the 10th tee at 12:51 p.m. and 1:12 p.m. (PT), respectively. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd.