Led by junior Brooke Cusumano’s team low round of 73, SIU women’s golf finished sixth overall at the South Alabama Invitational on Tuesday.

The team finished with a 918 score, which was a 20-stroke improvement from when it last played in the tournament in 2014. Cusumano tied for 11th, shooting 226 for the invitational.

Coach Alexis Mihelich told Saluki Athletics the St. Louis native’s performance was essential. 

“Brooke really stepped it up today,” Mihelich said. “We needed one player to shoot around par, and she did just that.”

Senior Mattie Lindner said she was happy to play in her first tournament of the spring and was confident throughout the tournament.

”Today wasn’t as good as yesterday and that’s just how it goes,” she said. “Some days are better than others, but I was able to finish strong despite putts not falling and I just couldn’t get enough birdies like I had hoped.”

Lindner finished tied for 23rd out of 51 golfers in the match.

Sophomore Hanna Netisingha, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Golfer of the Week, said her 27th-place finish was disappointing after a coming of a good tournament last weekend. She tied with freshman Sun Young Jung and sophomore Alice Ho, shooting 233. 

“I struggled with my short game the last few rounds I’ve played and tried to play through light rain the best I could and it didn’t really affect me,” Netisingha said. “My mental game was stronger last weekend and I was little more patient as opposed to today because I let my play get to me, and that was what threw the rest of my game off.”

The Salukis return home for a dual match at Hickory Ridge Golf Couse on Sunday.

Ted Ward can be reached at [email protected] or 618-534-3303