The ISU women’s golf team finished first in the Central District Invite this past Monday and Tuesday. 11 of the 15 teams in the tournament were ranked in the top 50, including No. 4 LSU.

The first two rounds were played Monday. After back-and-forth play throughout the day, the Cyclones were in third place. They were only one stroke behind Texas A&M, who was only one stroke back of LSU.

“When I look at the scoreboard, I never look down, I only look up,” said senior Laurence Herman. “When we saw that it was only two shots, and it was five of us playing, that could change in one hole. We also knew that it was LSU leading, and they weren’t just gonna let us win, so we knew we were gonna have to come out strong.”

The final 18 was played Monday. LSU, Texas A&M and Iowa State were all paired together for the round.

“We felt like we were close,” said coach Christie Martens. “It was only two strokes, we knew we weren’t out of it, and we just went out with a good mindset.”

The Cyclones started off hot.

“We started off the day just feeling really good,” said senior Victoria Stefansen. “You could just tell that everyone was really relaxed, coach was really relaxed and happy. You could tell a few of the other coaches were a little more edgy and telling their players what to do. We were just all out there waving at each other and just enjoying the position we were in. Everyone was very comfortable.”

Their play never faltered throughout the round, and by the end the players had a pretty good feeling.

“Golf is a very individual sport,” Herman said. “I had no idea how everyone else was doing. I knew I was doing well, and I was hoping everyone else was. It looked like everyone was doing good. But in the end when we walked in at the end we had no idea until we heard we won.”

The Cyclones ended up beating second-place LSU by nine strokes, an 11-stroke final round swing. Herman shot a team low of 216 which tied her for third individually. Everyone on the team finished in the top 25.

The win came one week after they gave No. 1 Alabama a tight battle for first at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic and has moved Iowa State to No. 11 in the country. It is the highest-ranking in team history. 

“No. 11 is the best we’ve ever been, and it’s really great,” said Stefansen. “But at the same time we want more. Top 15 is great, but top 10 sounds a lot better, so we keep on looking forward and it keeps us wanting more.”

The team is back on the course March 6 through 7 in Gainsville, Fla., for the SunTrust Gator Invitational.