Ohio State finished in second place (896, +20) at the Kinderlou Forest Challenge in Valdosta, Ga. on Tuesday, just seven strokes behind champion Tulane.  Kent State also turned in a solid tournament, placing 12th (921, +45) out of 18 teams.

The 24th-ranked Buckeyes were led by rookie Amy Meier, whose three-over 222 (79-70-73) was good enough for a seventh place tie overall.  The Kinderlou Forest Challenge was the second straight event where Meier was the top finisher for her squad.

“Amy was very steady,” Ohio State head coach Therese Hession said. “She ran off a nice string of birdies yesterday and was solid as a rock today in very difficult conditions. I’m proud of her stepping up.”

After opening with a 79 in the first round, Meier posted a three-under 70 in her second round to tie for the low round of the tournament. At one point during round two, Meier had reeled off five birdies in six holes. She secured her first top 10 finish with an even-par 73 in the final round.

Senior Emma Jandel and freshman Rachel Rohanna also led the OSU attack, as both finished tied for 16th with a six-over 225. 

“I thought we played really well,” Hession said. “We were steady as a team. Everyone contributed against this quality field and I’m really proud of our team’s performance.”

The 18-team qualified field at Valdosta that Hession referenced featured 11 teams ranked in the top 30 of the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.

For Kent State, sophomores Mercedes Germino and Shamira Marshall finished with a team-best nine-over 228 (tied for 26th) for the tournament.  Junior Sarah Bradley finished at +15 (234) to place 49th.

“I thought Mercedes played really well today in conditions that were pretty cold and windy by the end of the day,” Kent State head coach Mike Morrow said. “I was also pretty pleased by the fact that Shamira played pretty consistently throughout the tournament. I think if we can cut down on our three-putts, we’ll have a chance to put up some pretty low numbers the rest of the spring.”

Both Ohio State and Kent State will be off until the end of the month, when they will compete at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Challenge in Athens, Ga. on Mar. 26-28.