MARSHALL, Minn. – The Sioux Falls women's golf team earned a seventh-place finish at the EverSpring Inn & Suites Mustang Invitational, hosted by Southwest Minnesota State at the Marshall Golf Club. The Cougars posted a two-round total of 643 (+67), bouncing back from a tough opening day with one of the stronger second rounds in the field.

How It Happened

USF opened the tournament with a 327 (+39) on day one before responding with a 316 (+28) on day two to climb into seventh in the 13-team field.

Individually, Abbie Ritzer paced the lineup with rounds of 79 (+7) and 77 (+5) to finish tied for 16th overall. Gwen Latunski also put together a steady performance, improving by five strokes in the second round with an 83–78 to tie for 26th. Bryn Huber matched Latunski's opening round and closed with an 80 to finish tied for 32nd.

Avery Nelson (82–83, T-39th) and Alissa Thorfinnson (86–81, T-41st) rounded out the scoring lineup, while Cecelia VanDenTop competed as an individual, carding 89–83 to tie for 50th.

Across the field, scoring averaged 83.46 per round. The Marshall Golf Club proved challenging from start to finish, with the long par-5s at Nos. 2 and 18 ranking among the most difficult holes. On the other hand, the short par-4 18th provided the field's lone eagle of the weekend.

Team Statistics

• Team Finish: 7th of 13

• Team Score: 327–316—643 (+67)

• Low Round: 316 (+28), Round 2

• Top Finisher: Abbie Ritzer, 156 (+12), T-16th

Individual Scores

• Abbie Ritzer: 79 (+7), 77 (+5), T-16th

• Gwen Latunski: 83 (+11), 78 (+6), T-26th

• Bryn Huber: 83 (+11), 80 (+8), T-32nd

• Avery Nelson: 82 (+10), 83 (+11), T-39th

• Alissa Thorfinnson: 86 (+14), 81 (+9), T-41st

• Cecelia VanDenTop (IND): 89 (+17), 83 (+11), T-50th

Key Coo

Abbie Ritzer led the way for the Cougars with a two-day total of 156 (+12), securing a top-20 finish. It marks her second straight event finishing inside the top half of the field.

Coach's Corner

"Much like at The Jewel, we played considerably better on Day 2 than we did our first round," head coach Wade Merry said. "We are getting better, we just need to get off to a quicker start to avoid having so much ground to make up. I was really happy with how Abbie and Gwen played. They have been really consistent the last two weeks."

Up Next

The Cougars continue their fall schedule on October 4th-5th at the Jackrabbit Intercollegiate, held at the Grand Falls Golf Resort in Larchwood, Iowa.

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