The ISU women’s golf team competed in Puerto Rico on Sunday through Tuesday against No. 1 Alabama. After three rounds of back-and-forth play, Alabama secured a first-place finish.

The Cyclones played their way to a second-place finish in a tournament that hosted eight top-30 teams.

“It was fun to go out and show that we can compete against anyone,” coach Christien Martens said. “I think it was really good for our girls to go out and play right alongside Alabama the whole time … they are tough to beat, but it was nice to go out and show everyone that we can stick with anyone.”

The top finisher for the Cyclones was freshman Sasikarn On-iam. She shot a 72-73-73 for a 218 on her way to a fourth-place individual finish.

“[On-iam has] been playing well all season,”  Martens said. “She’s been working very hard … has a great attitude … she was very consistent through every round.”

Before the team left for the tournament, On-iam said one of her main goals for the spring was to improve more than just her play on the course.

“I think the biggest improvement I need to make is mentally,” On-iam said. “It is good to keep a level head if shots are not going where you want. That is what I will work on most”

Martens pointed out that the true reason for their second-place finish was the consistency from everyone on the team.

“All five of them finished in the top 16,” Martens said. “They feed off each other and all played so great all tournament long.”

The Cyclones entered the tournament as the No. 26 team in the country, moving to No. 16 after the their second-place finish. So far, through the fall and now spring season, they have finished no worse than fourth place. Martens attributes their success to hard work across the board.

“They just put in so much effort each week,” Martens said. “I think we work harder than a lot of other teams out there. That’s the main credit for how we’ve been performing in competitions.”

Next up for the Cyclones is Central District Invitational on Feb. 21 and 22 in Parrish, Fla.