The Iowa State women’s golf team finished their fall slate of tournaments behind the performance of senior Beth Bader and sophomore Sara Linneman on Sunday. Bader and Linneman carried the squad to a second place finish in the Beacon Woods Invitational in Bayonet Point, FL.

“This is the best finish we have ever had at this tournament,” Head Coach Julie Manning said.

The 54-hole tournament featured 11 teams last weekend.

Bader paced the Cyclones with a third place finish in the individual aspect. Bader shot rounds of 74-75-76 (225) to finish three strokes behind medalist winner Tine Faanes of Central Florida.

“She has wanted to be more consistent,” Manning said. “She has been pressing since she is a senior.”

The Cyclones as a team, totaled 921 strokes for the tournament, finishing just eight strokes behind tournament host Central Florida.

Linneman finished the individual aspect of the tournament with round totals of 70-78-80 (228). The tournament was Linneman’s best finish of the season.

“Sara has been the recipient of the Hardest Worker award for the past two years,” Manning said. “It has finally paid off for her. Earlier in the year, I said that we had four players that could win a tournament at anytime. I guess Sara was a little mad, and with her performance, you can change that to five,” Manning said.

Also placing for the Cyclones was sophomore Fiona Watson. Watson tied for 22nd with a 54-hole total of 235 strokes.

Senior Holly Duncan was the fourth ISU golfer. Duncan added a 238 stroke total to the Cyclone team score. Duncan finished in a tie for 28th.

Sophomore Cathy Matthews rounded out the Cyclone squad. Matthews finished the tournament with a 240 stroke total and finished in a tie for 33rd.

“I think we have the three best sophomores in the country,” Manning said. “With Sara, Cathy and Fiona, I would put those three against any three sophomores in the country.”

Another notable finish of interest for the Cyclones includes Ohio State University. The Buckeyes, who finished fourth as a team, were led by Jessica Luciuk 72-79-78 (229) to finish in a tie for fifth place. The Buckeyes have beaten the Cyclones in two previous tournaments.

“This is the first time in two years that we have beaten Ohio State,” Manning said.

The University of Miami also participated in the tournament. The Hurricanes finished in third place, six strokes behind the Cyclones. The Hurricanes were paced by Shayne Wild. She shot rounds of 75-76-78 (229) to finish in a tie for fifth place.

The Cyclones will next prepare for the spring slate. The team finished no worse than fifth in any of the five tournaments on their fall slate of tournaments.

“I was very pleased with our showings at the fall tournaments,” Manning said.

“We are going to take three weeks off before we begin with the indoor training,” Manning said. “This gives the team a chance to play some leisure golf and also a chance to be regular college students for a change.”