Tuesday, February 11
Clermont, FL
8 a.m.
Ball State University
3.0
vs
3.0
Omaha
Women's Golf Finishes Runner-Up at Rust Buster Match Play
February 11, 2025 | Women's Golf
CLERMONT, Fla. - - In a battle between the top two teams in the Rust Buster Match Play, the second-seeded Ball State women's golf team suffered a heartbreaking tiebreaker setback to top-seeded Omaha Tuesday afternoon at the Kings Ridge Golf Club.
"We showed a ton of grit with how fiercely we competed this week," head coach Cameron Andry said. "The match play format creates a fun and unique atmosphere, and it was fun to watch our players step up to the challenge."
The Cardinals earned individual wins from sophomore JJ Gregston (2&1), junior Sarah Gallagher (6&5) and sophomore Jenna Estravillo (2Up) to give the match a final score of 3.0-3.0, before ultimately dropping the tiebreaker by one hole margin.
Battling Omaha's top player, Katie Ruge, Gregston fired birdies on four of her final seven holes to secure the 2&1 victory. Starting her match on hole 14, Gregston picked up her first hole win with a par on the 18th to even the match. The combatants then traded wins on holes three and five, and again on holes eight and nine, to stay all square.
Tied with four holes remaining, Gregston went 1Up with a birdie on 10, and then after both players pared 11, won the match with a birdie on 12.
"JJ played one of the top players in the field and competed her tail off," Andry said. "That was a huge win that kept us in the fight down the stretch. It also shows that JJ can compete with anybody when she brings her best."
While Gallagher found herself down one early, dropping her opening hole on 15, she quickly recovered with a par to win 16 and her first to two birdies to win 17. She extended her lead to three with a birdie on one and a par on two, before dropping the third. However, she closed the round with six straight pars on 4-9 to secure the 6&5 win.
Starting on the courses opening hole, Estravillo found herself down one at the turn despite a pair of hole wins which included a birdie on six. However, she was able to flip the score with back-to-back pars on holes 11 and 12 to take the lead. She moved 2Up with a win on 14 but dropped back to 1Up after the 15th. After paring the 16th and 17th to stay 1Up, she closed the match with a birdie on the 18th to win her match by two holes.
"Sarah was dominant today with some super solid golf," Andry added. "Jenna came up clutch with some big wins down the stretch including a great birdie on the last hole to win 2Up."
Coming off her strong finish yesterday, freshman Sophie Korthuijs registered three straight birdies on holes 17, 18 and 1, building a 1Up lead after four. Unfortunately, she would lose five of the next six holes and could not recover. She did earn one more hole win, however, thanks to a par on 9 to finish with three hole victories on the day.
Despite one birdie and 10 pars over her 15 holes, junior Madelin Boyd suffered her first match play loss of the week by a 4&3 margin. Down five holes after the first eight (17-6), she managed to square six of the final seven holes, while winning hole eight. Her birdie came on the course's 10th hole, her 12th of the match.
Sophomore Madelyn Young also battled hard despite a 3&2 setback. She recorded seven pars over her 18 holes and picked up her lone win on with a par on the 14th to extend the match.
The Ball State women's golf team returns to stoke play for the first time this spring Feb. 21-Feb. 23 when it heads to the Rio Verde Invitational at the Rio Verde Country Club in Rio Verde, Arizona.
"We showed a ton of grit with how fiercely we competed this week," head coach Cameron Andry said. "The match play format creates a fun and unique atmosphere, and it was fun to watch our players step up to the challenge."
The Cardinals earned individual wins from sophomore JJ Gregston (2&1), junior Sarah Gallagher (6&5) and sophomore Jenna Estravillo (2Up) to give the match a final score of 3.0-3.0, before ultimately dropping the tiebreaker by one hole margin.
Battling Omaha's top player, Katie Ruge, Gregston fired birdies on four of her final seven holes to secure the 2&1 victory. Starting her match on hole 14, Gregston picked up her first hole win with a par on the 18th to even the match. The combatants then traded wins on holes three and five, and again on holes eight and nine, to stay all square.
Tied with four holes remaining, Gregston went 1Up with a birdie on 10, and then after both players pared 11, won the match with a birdie on 12.
"JJ played one of the top players in the field and competed her tail off," Andry said. "That was a huge win that kept us in the fight down the stretch. It also shows that JJ can compete with anybody when she brings her best."
While Gallagher found herself down one early, dropping her opening hole on 15, she quickly recovered with a par to win 16 and her first to two birdies to win 17. She extended her lead to three with a birdie on one and a par on two, before dropping the third. However, she closed the round with six straight pars on 4-9 to secure the 6&5 win.
Starting on the courses opening hole, Estravillo found herself down one at the turn despite a pair of hole wins which included a birdie on six. However, she was able to flip the score with back-to-back pars on holes 11 and 12 to take the lead. She moved 2Up with a win on 14 but dropped back to 1Up after the 15th. After paring the 16th and 17th to stay 1Up, she closed the match with a birdie on the 18th to win her match by two holes.
"Sarah was dominant today with some super solid golf," Andry added. "Jenna came up clutch with some big wins down the stretch including a great birdie on the last hole to win 2Up."
Coming off her strong finish yesterday, freshman Sophie Korthuijs registered three straight birdies on holes 17, 18 and 1, building a 1Up lead after four. Unfortunately, she would lose five of the next six holes and could not recover. She did earn one more hole win, however, thanks to a par on 9 to finish with three hole victories on the day.
Despite one birdie and 10 pars over her 15 holes, junior Madelin Boyd suffered her first match play loss of the week by a 4&3 margin. Down five holes after the first eight (17-6), she managed to square six of the final seven holes, while winning hole eight. Her birdie came on the course's 10th hole, her 12th of the match.
Sophomore Madelyn Young also battled hard despite a 3&2 setback. She recorded seven pars over her 18 holes and picked up her lone win on with a par on the 14th to extend the match.
The Ball State women's golf team returns to stoke play for the first time this spring Feb. 21-Feb. 23 when it heads to the Rio Verde Invitational at the Rio Verde Country Club in Rio Verde, Arizona.
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