When Christie Martens received a text message from her sister, she had no idea what her team was in the midst of.
Martens is the women’s golf coach at Iowa State. Her sister, Beth Miller, is an assistant at Northwestern and was texting Martens during the final round of the Mountain View Collegiate on Sunday in Saddlebrooke, Arizona. The Cyclones were on the verge of history.
“We were just out there trying to win a tournament,” Martens said.
They left no doubt.
Iowa State shot the lowest 54-hole team score in NCAA history after carding 60 under for the Mountain View Collegiate. The team posted an 804 (280-265-259) three-round total to claim the NCAA record by 10 shots over Stanford’s previous 814 tally back in 2022. The record-setting 60-under performance included the lowest team 18-hole round in NCAA history. During the final round, Iowa State carded a 29-under 259 that topped Alabama’s previous effort back in 2016, where it shot 263 at the Mason Rudolph Championship.
In addition to that, freshman Karisa Chul-Ak-Sorn tied the 54-hole NCAA record with a 25-under score that included a 10-under 62 in the second round.
“It was pretty phenomenal,” Martens said. “When you’re playing so well like that, golf is so easy.”
In the final round, Chul-Ak-Sorn shot 8 under. So did her teammates Ruby Chou and Pammy Chookaew. Chul-Ak-Sorn won by seven shots over Ohio State’s Caley McGinty, and the Cyclones won by an astounding 33 shots over the Buckeyes.
“It’s great to see everything come together,” Martens said. “All of our practices are transferring to great golf.”
After the second round when Iowa State shot 23 under, the team returned to its host family’s house, which was Cyclone fans. At dinner that night, the host family was talking to the team and saying how the team would be able to beat its 23-under score, which was the best round in school history, on Sunday.
“I did not think we’d be breaking an NCAA record,” Martens said.
Iowa State’s next competition is in April during Big 12 Match Play in Phoenix.
