Ohio State
Big Ten Championship
Buckeyes Seize Second Straight Big Ten Title, 100th Overall in Program History – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
April 26, 2015
RELATED INFO
INDIANPOLIS, Ind. — The Ohio State University women’s golf team has been crowned Big Ten champions for a second consecutive season and conference-best 13th time since 1982. The latter of back-to-back B1G co-championships is a monumental one for Ohio State, marking the 100th tournament title in program history.
*BTN will provide tape-delayed coverage of the Big Ten Women’s Golf Championships on Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. ET
Legendary head coach Therese Hession has been at the helm of the program for 45 of 100 all-time tournament triumphs. She has also led the charge for nine Big Ten crowns, including six of the last 14 years.
The Buckeyes were victorious at four straight conference tournaments from 1978-81 as well, but the conference office doesn’t officially recognize titles prior to 1982.
Four Buckeyes can be found in the final top-8, each finishing tied for fifth place or better on the individual leaderboard. Sophomore Katja Pogacar placed the highest, sharing runner-up honors with Maryland’s Juilet Vongphoumy at 2-under on the weekend. Senior captain Jan Chanpalangsri was one shot back to place fourth of 84 competitors. Jessica Porvasnik and Rio Watanabe both tied for fifth at 1-over.
Pogacar opened with a 3-under 69 on Friday before battling through Saturday’s inclement weather to post a 73. She then scored 72 on the final day for a 214 total earning her tournament runner-up honors. Chanpalangsri grabbed the early lead on the strength of a 4-under 68 in the opening round. She remained on top of the leaderboard entering Sunday following her 73 on Day Two. A final day 74 added up to a 54-hole total of 215 (+1) and fourth-place performance.
Porvasnik was steady as it comes, registering even par 72s in the first two rounds before varying just a tad at 73 in round number three. The sophomore has now garnered top-5 efforts in both of her trips to the conference championship, winning medalist honors last season. Rio Watanabe shined in her freshman voyage to the Big Tens as well, matching Porvasnik at 1-over (217) and tying for fifth place in 2015.
Claudia Lim and Zoe-Beth Brake also donned the Scarlet & Gray in Indianapolis. Lim carded rounds of 77-76-78 (+15) to tie for 54th place while Brake came in at 75th (78-84-78).
As a team, the Buckeyes racked up 47 birdies in the event. Northwestern and Purdue ranked second with 43 birdies. Chanpalangsri, Pogacar and Watanabe paced the field with 11 birdies apiece.
BUCKEYE RESULTS
T-1st — Team 281-292-290–863 (-1)
T-2nd — Katja Pogacar 69-73-72–214 (-2)
4th — Jan Chanpalangsri 68-73-74–215 (-1)
T-5th Jessica Porvasnik 72-72-73–217 (+1)
T-5th — Rio Watanabe 72-74-71–217 (+1)
T-54th — Claudia Lim 77-76-78–231 (+15)
75th — Zoe-Beth Brake 78-84-78–240 (+24)
Next up is the NCAA Regional. The NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships selections will be announced live on Monday, April 27, broadcast by Golf Channel starting at 7 p.m. ET.
