AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State women's golf team is having one of its finest seasons in school history. The Cyclones are currently ranked No. 17 in the latest Golfweek national rankings. The Cyclones have been ranked in the top-20 throughout most of the season.
Iowa State amped up its schedule as the program became elite under the guidance of head coach
Christie Martens. The Cyclones annually play in outstanding tournaments, competing against the best teams in the nation whenever they tee it up.
Despite the tough fields, the Cyclones have placed in the top-five in four of six tournaments this year, including a fourth-place finish at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, a tournament which consisted of nine teams ranked in the nation's top-30.
The latest Golfweek individual rankings features three Cyclones rated in the nation's top-100 in
Celia Barquin (No. 66),
Parinda Phokan (No. 74) and
Chayanit Wangmahaporn (No. 98). Barquin is a sophomore and Phokan and Wangmahaporn are freshmen.
Barquin, a native of Puente San Miguel, Spain, leads the team in stroke average (72.90) and top-10 finishes (3). A First-Team All-Big 12 selection in 2015, Barquin owns ISU's career mark in stroke average at 73.20. She narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Finals as an individual in her freshman season in 2015 by tying for ninth at the NCAA Raleigh Regional.
The Cyclones have been bolstered by the play of two outstanding rookies in Phokan and Wangmahaporn. Phokan is averaging 73.06 strokes per round and is second on the team in top-10 finishes with two, including tying for eighth at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic last week.
Wangmahaporn has a 73.50 scoring clip and leads the team with three sub-70 rounds. She shot a career-low 68 at the UCF Challenge and posted a pair of 69s en route to a career-low 214 at the Mercedez-Benz Intercollegiate.
The Cyclones are back in action on Monday at the Hurricane Invitational in Miami.