The Iowa State women’s golf team will compete in the consolation bracket finals after an up-and-down first two days at the first-ever Big 12 Match Play. 

Iowa State came into Big 12 Match Play as the three seed behind Baylor at two and Texas at one. The Cyclones took on TCU and Kansas State in the morning Friday, followed by Texas Tech and Kansas in the evening. 

Heading into day two, Iowa State sat even with a 2-2 record from day one and tied for sixth place with 9.5 points. They would face off against the top-two seeded teams to start the day, with a spot in the championship bracket on the line. 

The good and bad of day one 

Iowa State faced off against TCU and Kansas State in the first round Friday morning. The Cyclones notched a 3-2 win against the Wildcats and a near blowout 1-3-1 loss to TCU. In the afternoon session, the Cyclones would go even again, with a 2-3 loss against Texas Tech and a 3-2 win against Kansas. 

A couple of freshmen shined on day one for the Cyclones, led by Pammy Chookaew, who had a perfect day, winning all four of her matchups. Karisa Chul-Ak-Sorn, coming off of an NCAA record-breaking performance in her last outing, had a close loss in her matchup against TCU, losing by just one hole. Chul-Ak-Sorn won the rest of her matchups against Kansas State, Texas Tech and Kansas. 

While the freshmen stood out during day one, the upperclassmen struggled in their respective matchups. Juniors Liyana Durisic and Ruby Chou had a combined 1-7 record on day one, with the only win coming from Chou in her matchup against Kansas. Senior Taglao Jeeravivitaporn had a 1-2-1 record on day one, with her one win coming in her Kansas State matchup. 

Cyclones finish even in pool play

The Cyclones traded leads through their matchups with both Baylor and Texas but ultimately only won their matchup against Baylor with a final of 3-2. They fell short against Texas in a 2-3 loss, and at the end of pool play, stayed in sixth place with a team score of 14.5 points. 

Durisic turned things around on day two, going 2-0 in her morning matchups, both of which were down to the wire. Chookaew had her first loss of the weekend in her matchup against Baylor but shot well enough to win in the Texas matchup, ending pool play with a 5-1 record. 

Chul-Ak-Sorn and Jeeravivitaporn split their matchups, losing against their respective Texas matchups but winning against Baylor. Chou lost both morning matchups, leaving her with a 1-5-1 record at the end of pool play. 

Cyclones win in consolation semi-finals

Iowa State faced off against Texas Tech in the consolation semi-finals, where they would win 3-1-1, earning a spot in the consolation finals. Durisic continued her hot streak on day two, earning a win in her matchup, followed by Chou and Chookaew who also got a win in their last matchup of the day. 

Chul-Ak-Sorn ended her day with a tie, and Jeeravivitaporn lost her matchup to round out the rest of the Cyclone’s lineup. The team will take on Oklahoma in the finals Sunday morning, a team they have not matched up against in the tournament. 

Big 12 Match Play will conclude Sunday morning with the championship and consolation bracket finals matches. Live stats can be found on Golfstat.