COLUMBUS — It wasn’t the closing round she envisioned, but Mandy Ruminski finished with a flourish.
Lexington’s junior ace birdied her final two holes for a round of 74 during the final day of the Division I state tournament at Ohio State’s Gray Course.
Ruminski’s two-day total of 144 was good for sixth place individually and a spot on the All-Ohio second team. She was joined by Ashland’s Anna Watson, who followed Friday’s opening-round 76 with an even-par 70 and a two-day 146 — good for a tie for ninth with Bowling Green’s Macy Hanus.
Ashland finished sixth as a team with a two-day 644. New Albany repeated as state champ and broke its own state record from a year ago with a two-day 571.
New Albany’s Anna Ritter was the individual medalist with a two-day total of 3-under 138.
Ruminski was just one stroke off the lead entering the final round after firing an even-par 70 on Friday. She was 1-over through eight holes before double-bogeying the par-4 ninth and bogeying the par-4 10th.
“I broke down a little bit. It wasn’t a very good round for me,” a disheartened Ruminski said afterward. “The last two holes were OK. It was a good way to come back.”
Ruminski moved to Lexington from Shelby, where she was a member of the Whippets’ Division II state runner-up teams in 2017 and 2018. She shot a 148 for the Whippets last year, good for third.
“It was a lot different, being at a different school in Division I and (qualifying as) an individual,” Ruminski said. “I’ve been working really hard for this. I was really hoping to do better than I did.”
Like Ruminski, Ashland’s Watson was making her third straight appearance at the state tournament. She tied for 15th as a sophomore in 2017 with a 152 and tied for eighth last year with a 148.
“I hit the ball better today and made some putts, which I was not doing (Friday),” Watson said. “I shot two strokes better this year than last year.”
Kira Moore shot a two-day 152 to finish 19th. Klaira Paramore tied for 43rd with a 165, while Abby Fossaceca shot a 184 and Sarah Anderson had a 191.
“We had a good second day,” Ashland coach Nancy Noble said. “We started out a little rough and then we got better as it went on.”
