Sunday, March 15
Vero Beach, Fla.
All Day
Purdue Fort Wayne
at
NKU Spring Fling
Lillian Gottman, Emily Gottman, Natalie Papa, Lillie Cone
Photo by: Josh Gales
Ekesall and Papa Collect Top-Fives as 'Dons Take Third at NKU Spring Fling
3/15/2026 1:37:00 PM | Women's Golf
VERO BEACH, Fla. - Louise Ekesall and Natalie Papa of the Purdue Fort Wayne women's golf team both earned top-five finishes at the NKU Spring Fling on Sunday (March 15), while as a team the Mastodons took third.
Papa played as an individual, but took third in 64-player field. She shot 74 in round three for a three-day total of 226, matching her career-best. She finished the 54-hole event with just one hole worse than a bogey, but that did not happen in round three. She had four birdies, eight pars and six bogeys on Sunday. Her birdies came on 12 and 17 on the back, then she finished her day with back-to-back birdies on eight and nine. Papa had the best score among all Horizon League student-athletes in the field. She was three shots back of Bucknell's Sophia Bardunais, who won the event.
In the first top-five of her career, Ekesall used an even final round to vault into fifth place. She shot 229 thanks to three birdies, 12 pars and three bogeys in round three. After starting on 16, she went 2-under over the first five holes with birdies on 18 and one. After three bogeys over the next nine holes, she birdied 12 and parred her last three holes to move back to even. Her 229 is eight shots better than her previous career-best and 13 strokes better than any other event this season.
For the second day in a row, Emily Gottman moved up the leaderboard, getting up to 14th with a final round of 77. She finished at 235, also the best 54-hole score of her freshman campaign. Gottman was 1-over the front nine thanks to eight pars. Over the 13-hole stretch from hole 1 to 13, she was even with a birdie on 12.
Hunar Mittal took 21st with a final round of 82 for a total of 238. she pulled together nine pars in the final round.
Lillian Gottman had her 80 taken for the team score in round three. She had 10 pars and a birdie on the 501-yard 18th. She finished in 24th place with a 239.
Lillie Cone also played as an individual, shooting 88-88-83-259 for 57th place.
The Mastodons shot 936 as a team after improving each round. The 'Dons' 306 on Sunday was the second-best in the field, matching St. John's. Bucknell won the event with a 911.
Purdue Fort Wayne topped NKU by seven strokes and Detroit Mercy by 43.
The Mastodons will visit Batavia, Ohio for Northern Kentucky's next event, the Julie Invitational, on March 23-24.
Papa played as an individual, but took third in 64-player field. She shot 74 in round three for a three-day total of 226, matching her career-best. She finished the 54-hole event with just one hole worse than a bogey, but that did not happen in round three. She had four birdies, eight pars and six bogeys on Sunday. Her birdies came on 12 and 17 on the back, then she finished her day with back-to-back birdies on eight and nine. Papa had the best score among all Horizon League student-athletes in the field. She was three shots back of Bucknell's Sophia Bardunais, who won the event.
In the first top-five of her career, Ekesall used an even final round to vault into fifth place. She shot 229 thanks to three birdies, 12 pars and three bogeys in round three. After starting on 16, she went 2-under over the first five holes with birdies on 18 and one. After three bogeys over the next nine holes, she birdied 12 and parred her last three holes to move back to even. Her 229 is eight shots better than her previous career-best and 13 strokes better than any other event this season.
For the second day in a row, Emily Gottman moved up the leaderboard, getting up to 14th with a final round of 77. She finished at 235, also the best 54-hole score of her freshman campaign. Gottman was 1-over the front nine thanks to eight pars. Over the 13-hole stretch from hole 1 to 13, she was even with a birdie on 12.
Hunar Mittal took 21st with a final round of 82 for a total of 238. she pulled together nine pars in the final round.
Lillian Gottman had her 80 taken for the team score in round three. She had 10 pars and a birdie on the 501-yard 18th. She finished in 24th place with a 239.
Lillie Cone also played as an individual, shooting 88-88-83-259 for 57th place.
The Mastodons shot 936 as a team after improving each round. The 'Dons' 306 on Sunday was the second-best in the field, matching St. John's. Bucknell won the event with a 911.
Purdue Fort Wayne topped NKU by seven strokes and Detroit Mercy by 43.
The Mastodons will visit Batavia, Ohio for Northern Kentucky's next event, the Julie Invitational, on March 23-24.
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