Christie Martens didn’t know what Christie Martens was up to when she received a text message her sister sent.
Martens is the Iowa State women’s golf coach. She was texting Martens from Arizona with her sister Beth Miller, an assistant at Northwestern, during Sunday’s final round at Mountain View Collegiate. The Cyclones were close to history.
Martens stated, “We were just trying to win a tourney.”
They were unambiguous.
After scoring 60 under for Mountain View Collegiate, Iowa State recorded the NCAA’s lowest 54-hole team score. The team’s total of 804 (280-265-259) three-rounds was enough to break Stanford’s previous record of 814 set in 2022. This record-breaking 60-under result included the NCAA’s lowest 18-hole team round. Iowa State shot a 29-under 259 during the final round. This was better than Alabama’s 2016 effort of 263 at The Mason Rudolph Championship.
Additionally, freshman Karisa Chul-Ak-Sorn tied for the 54-hole NCAA record. She had a 25-under score which included a 10-under-62 in the second round.
Martens stated, “It was pretty incredible.” Golf is easy when you play so well.
Chul-Aks-Sorn was 8 under in the final round. Ruby Chou, Pammy Chookaew and her teammate were also successful. Chul-Ak-Sorn beat Ohio State’s Caley McInty by seven shots, while the Cyclones defeated the Buckeyes by an astonishing 33 shots.
Martens stated, “It’s amazing to see all of our practices come together.” “All our practices are transferring into great golf.”
The team went back to their host family, Cyclone fans, after the second round, when Iowa State shot 23-under. The host family spoke to the team that evening and explained how they would beat their 23-under score on Sunday.
Martens stated, “I didn’t think we would be breaking an NCAA Record.”
The next competition for Iowa State is April at Big 12 Match Play in Phoenix.
