The Kent State Golden Flashes women's golf team is an intercollegiate sport at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. The program was established in 1998 and competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Through the 2025–26 season, the Flashes have won 27 conference titles, all consecutively. Kent State is the only school to win the Mid-American Conference Women's Golf Championships, and has had team members win individual medalist honors in 21 of those years. The 27 consecutive MAC titles are a conference record for consecutive titles in any sport. In addition to their conference titles, Kent State has made 25 consecutive appearances in the regional round of the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships, winning one regional title, advancing to the championship round eight times, and to the final match play round twice. The program's highest national finish is a tie for 5th in 2017 and 2018.
Windmill Lakes Golf Club in Ravenna serves as the program's home course and occasionally hosts matches. The main practice facility is the Page and Ferrara Golf Training and Learning Center, a building located in Franklin Township, which the team shares with the men's golf team. The facility includes a outdoor practice range, outdoor practice tees, and outdoor short-game practice areas as well as an indoor putting and chipping area, a video analysis room, and a Science and Motion Putt lab. In addition, the rear of the facility features heated stalls which allow team members to access the driving range year-round.
The Flashes' head coach is Casey VanDamme, who was hired in August 2021. VanDamme came from South Dakota State University, where he had previously served as the head coach for both the men's and women's golf programs. He is the Flashes' fourth head coach, succeeding Lisa Strom, who left in July 2021 to take the head coaching job at Ohio State. Strom was hired at KSU in July 2019 as the program's third head coach and replaced Greg Robertson, who left for Oklahoma State following the 2018–19 season. Prior to Robertson, the team was coached by Mike Morrow from its inception until 2013, then by men's golf coach Herb Page on an interim basis for the remainder of the 2012–13 season.
History Plans for the team were first explored in 1995 as Kent State began looking into ways to increase women's athletic opportunities to be in compliance with Title IX. The university ultimately decided to add women's soccer for 1997, golf for 1998, and tennis for 1999, though the tennis team was never realized. Mike Morrow, a Kent State alumnus who had played on the KSU men's golf team in the 1970s, was hired as the women's golf program first head coach in September 1997. The team played in their first match one year later, placing fourth out of 13 teams in the Mary Fossum Invitational at Forest Akers Golf Courses in East Lansing, Michigan, on September 12 and 13, 1998. In their second tournament one week later, the Flashes finished second out of 20 teams in the Huskie Classic in Genoa, Illinois, and the following week, Kent State claimed its first tournament win in program history, winning the Lady Falcon Invitational in Bowling Green, Ohio, held September 26 and 27. The Flashes won the inaugural Mid-American Conference Women's Golf Championships the following April, winning the team title by 25 strokes. Jan Dowling was MAC medalist, with teammates finishing second and tied for third in the individual competition. The 2008 MAC championship set the conference record for largest margin of victory, with KSU winning by 66 strokes.
Through the 2024 season, Kent State has won over 50 tournaments, including 25 MAC championships. Mike Morrow coached the team from its establishment in 1998 until January 2013, midway through the 2012–13 season, when he announced his retirement. Under Morrow, the team played in 166 events and won 31 of them, including 14 MAC championships, and advanced to the NCAA tournament 12 times, reaching the championship round in five of those years. Morrow was replaced for the remainder of the 2012–13 season by men's golf coach Herb Page on an interim basis, who guided the team to its 15th-consecutive MAC championship and 13th-consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament. Greg Robertson, who had previously served as a women's golf assistant coach at Purdue, was hired as head coach in May 2013. In his six seasons as head coach, Robertson led the team to 26 team titles including a program-best six titles in 2015–16 and 2018–19. Included in the total are six more MAC championships and six appearances in the NCAA regional tournament, along with a regional title in 2019. The 2017 team advanced to the championship round for the first time since 2010 and had their best finish in program history, finishing in a tie for fifth after advancing to the match play round.
MAC championships
The Mid-American Conference added women's golf as a sponsored sport beginning in the 1998–99 season, with Kent State one of seven conference schools to begin offering the sport that season at the varsity level. The inaugural Mid-American Conference Women's Golf Championship was held in April 1999, which the Flashes won by 25 strokes. Through the 2026 championship, Kent State is the only conference member to ever win the conference meet, winning all 27 titles that have been contested. During the streak, the Flashes have won the tournament by as many as 66 strokes in 2002 and as few as four strokes in 2016, and have claimed the individual conference title in 21 of those years, including co-medalist titles in 2024. Their 18th consecutive title in 2016 set a new MAC record for consecutive conference titles by a single school in any sport. 1999 Kings Island Mason, Ohio 1st Jan Dowling (1st) 2000 Walden Ponds Hamilton, Ohio 1st Jan Dowling (1st) 2001 1st Martina Gillen (1st) 2002 1st Martina Gillen (1st) 2003 1st Verionique Drouin (1st) 2004 1st Gabby Wedding (1st) 2005 1st Tara Delaney (T-4th) 2006 1st Tara Delaney (1st) 2007 Longaberger Golf Club Nashport, Ohio 1st Kira Meixner (1st) 2008 Brickyard Course Indianapolis 1st Kirby Dreher (1st) 2009 Longaberger Golf Club Nashport, Ohio 1st Mercedes Germino (1st) 2010 Hawthorns Golf & Country Club Fishers, Indiana 1st Martina Gavier (1st) 2011 Longaberger Golf Club Nashport, Ohio 1st Sarah Bradley (3rd) 2012 Hawthorns Golf & Country Club Fishers, Indiana 1st Mercedes Germino (3rd) 2013 Longaberger Golf Club Nashport, Ohio 1st Jennifer Ha (1st) 2014 Hawthorns Golf & Country Club Fishers, Indiana 1st Jennifer Ha (1st) 2015 Shaker Run Golf Club Lebanon, Ohio 1st Josee Doyon (1st) 2016 Purgatory Golf Club Noblesville, Indiana 1st Wad Phaewchimplee (T-4th) 2017 Silver Lake Country Club Silver Lake, Ohio 1st Michaela Finn (1st) 2018 Naperville Country Club Naperville, Illinois 1st Pimnipa Panthong (1st) 2019 Purgatory Golf Club Noblesville, Indiana 1st Karoline Stormo (1st)2020 Silver Lake Country Club Silver Lake, Ohio Canceled due to coronavirus pandemic 2021 Silver Lake Country Club Silver Lake, Ohio 1st Caley McGinty (1st) 2022 Stone Oak Country Club Holland, Ohio 1st Chloe Salort (2nd) 2023 Kalamazoo Country Club Kalamazoo, Michigan 1st Leon Takagi (1st) 2024 Pinnacle Golf Club Grove City, Ohio 1st Hester Sicking (T-1st), Leon Takagi (T-1st) 2025 Delaware Country Club Muncie, Indiana 1st Gracie Larsen (T-2nd), Aryn Matthews (T-2nd), Isabella Goyette (T-2nd) 2026 Firestone Country Club Akron, Ohio 1st Veronika Kedroňová (1st)Totals: 27 MAC Championships; 22 MAC medalists
NCAA tournament Kent State has made 25 consecutive appearances in the regional round of the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships through 2026, making their first tournament in 2001. They have advanced to the championship round eight times, most recently in 2021. The program's best placements were in 2017 and 2018 when they advanced to match play and finished tied for fifth nationally. Their previous best finish was in 2001, when the Flashes placed 15th in the championship round.
2001 Regional Kampen Golf Course West Lafayette, Indiana 7th Championship El Campeon Golf Course Howey-In-The-Hills, Florida 15th 2002 Regional Forest Akers West Golf Course East Lansing, Michigan 9th2003 Regional Firethorn Golf Course Lincoln, Nebraska 2nd Championship Kampen Golf Course West Lafayette, Indiana T-19th 2004 Regional Firethorn Golf Course Lincoln, Nebraska 20th 2005 Regional The Rawls Golf Course Lubbock, Texas 11th 2006 Regional The Traditions Club Bryan, Texas T-6th Championship Ohio State University Golf Club Scarlet Course Upper Arlington, Ohio 21st 2007 Regional University of Michigan Golf Course Ann Arbor, Michigan 10th 2008 Regional University of Texas Golf Club Austin, Texas 14th 2009 Regional Ohio State University Golf Club Scarlet Course Upper Arlington, Ohio 12th2010 Regional Otter Creek Golf Course Columbus, Indiana 8th Championship Country Club of Landfall Wilmington, North Carolina 22nd 2011 Regional Warren Golf Course South Bend, Indiana 14th 2012 Regional Penn State Blue Course State College, Pennsylvania 16th 2013 Regional Stanford University Golf Course Palo Alto, California 12th 2014 Regional Karsten Creek Golf Club Stillwater, Oklahoma 10th 2015 Regional Warren Golf Course South Bend, Indiana 9th 2016 Regional The Traditions Club Bryan, Texas 8th2017 Regional The Rawls Course Lubbock, Texas 6th Championship Rich Harvest Farms Sugar Grove, Illinois T-5th2018 Regional TPC Harding Park San Francisco 5th Championship Karsten Creek Golf Club Stillwater, Oklahoma T-5th 2019 Regional Forest Akers West Golf Course East Lansing, Michigan 1st Championship Blessings Golf Club Fayetteville, Arkansas 19th 2021 Regional Ohio State University Golf Club Scarlet Course Upper Arlington, Ohio 5th Championship Grayhawk Golf Club Scottsdale, Arizona 17th 2022 Regional Vanderbilt Legends Club Franklin, Tennessee 10th 2023 Regional University of Georgia Golf Course Athens, Georgia 10th 2024 Regional Spanish Trail Country Club Spring Valley, Nevada 8th 2025 Regional Ohio State University Golf Club Upper Arlington, Ohio 7th 2026 Regional Finley Golf Course Chapel Hill, North Carolina 25 NCAA regional round appearances1 regional championship8 championship round appearances
Head coaches Mike Morrow 1998–2013 15 172 31 14 Regional: 12Championship: 4 Herb Page 2013 1 11 2 1 Regional: 1 Greg Robertson 2013–2019 6 72 27 6 Regional: 6Championship: 3 Lisa Strom 2019–2021 2 15 9 1 Regional: 1Championship: 1 Casey VanDamme 2021–present 5 58 7 5 Regional: 5
Awards The Mid-American Conference has four awards, which are selected at the conference championship: Sportswoman of the Year, Golfer of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Coach of the Year, along with the first team all-MAC, second team all-MAC, and all-tournament team. Sportswoman of the Year is selected by fellow players, while the other awards and honorary teams are selected by a vote of the head coaches. Pimnipa Panthong became the first player in conference history to win both the Golfer of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors, claiming both in 2017.
MAC Golfer of the Year Name Year(s) Jan Dowling Martina Gillen Veronique Drouin Gabby Wedding Tara Delaney Kira Meixner Kirby Dreher Martina Gavier Mercedes Germino Jennifer Ha Josee Doyon Taylor Kim Pimnipa Panthong Karoline Stormo Caley McGinty 2021 Mayka Hoogeboom 2023 Leon Takagi 2024 Veronika Kedronova 2025
MAC Freshman of the Year Name Year(s) Jan Dowling 1999 Veronique Drouin 2000 Martina Gillen 2001 Gabby Wedding 2002 Tara Delaney 2005 Kirby Dreher 2006 Martina Gavier 2008 Mercedes Germino 2009 Jennifer Ha 2012 Wad Phaewchimplee 2014 Pimnipa Panthong 2017 Thitapa Pakdeesetakul 2019 Leon Takagi 2023Veronika Kedronova 2024Gracie Larsen 2025
MAC Coach of the Year Name Year(s) 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 2021 2023, 2024, 2025
Facilities