Carla Bernat leads Kansas State women's golf to first NCAA national tournament berth
Bernat shot a 6-under-par 66 Wednesday to claim individual medalist honors as the Wildcats produced the day's best team score at 10-under to tie for second in the NCAA Lexington Regional at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky. By finishing in the top five, K-State advanced to nationals for the first time ever May 16-21 in Carlsbad, California.
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"Moments like this are why we do all the work," K-State coach Stew Burke said. "It was a pleasure to be out there today with them. They were composed, confident, and determined. Nobody was going to give it to us, so we just had to go out there and take it."
Bernat's round, which included a double-eagle 2 on the par-5 fifth hole and four birdies, vaulted her from third place to a two-stroke victory (-12, 204 total) over team champion Florida State's Lottie Woad and Mirabel Ting. The Wildcats also got a 5-under 67 from freshman Nanami Nakashima, which moved her into an 11th-place tie alongside Alenka Navarro at even par for the tournament.
Related: Kansas State women's golf moves one step closer to qualifying for NCAA Championship
Related: Kansas State women's golf finishes strong in opening round of NCAA Lexington Regional
Kansas State golfer Carla Bernat celebrates after winning the Augusta National Women's Amateur last month. Bernat topped that Wednesday by claiming medalist honors in the NCAA Lexington Regional and leading the Wildcats to a second-place team finish.
Noa van Beek added a 1-over 73 and Sophie Bert a 3-over 75 to complete the Wildcats' round for the day.
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Top seed Florida State won the team title at 15-under for the three rounds, while K-State gained five strokes to tie Georgia Southern for second at 10-under. The Wildcats' 278 total Wednesday tied for eighth lowest in program history over 54 holes.
Bernat, a senior from Castellon, Spain, who was the Big 12 player of the year, tied Bert's 54-hole school record with her 12-under-par 204.
"Carla really had a great tournament and built well into the week," Burke said of Bernat. "Winning a regional against the No. 1 and 2 players not just in the country but the world is no easy feat.
"It was special to see her albatross at hole 5, and it came right when we needed it as a team. To win once in college golf is an unbelievable achievement, but eight times is truly remarkable. She has a bright future ahead of her after college, but let's first try and add to that total in California."
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The NCAA Championship, which starts Friday, May 16, features four rounds of stroke play to determine the individual champion as well as the top eight teams that will advance to match play May 20-21.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State women's golf qualifies for first national tournament
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