The Ohio State women’s golf team was dissatisfied as it left East Lansing with a fourth place finish at the Big Ten Championships Sunday.

Michigan State, the host of the 11-team tournament, won the championship with a score of 1188, while the Buckeyes shot 1227.

Senior Dana Je, who finished in equal 12th place, had the low score (308) for OSU, followed by sophomore Gemma Webster (310) who tied for 15th and freshman Emma Jandel (311) who finished 17th.

Good but not greatThe Buckeyes were not content with their fourth place finish.

“Obviously we’re disappointed we didn’t win the championship,” said coach Therese Hession. “We did OK but we didn’t have anyone that shot real well to win the championship like Michigan State who had two players finish in first and third place. Those are the kind of scores you need to have to actually win.”

Webster agreed with her coach.

“It wasn’t a terrible finish but it wasn’t the best,” she said.

Capitalizing at homeTwo of the top three scoring players belonged to Michigan State.

The fact that the Spartans took advantage of playing at home did not surprise Hession.

“Anytime you put a golfer on their home course, especially the two seniors that played so well, there’s going to be an advantage,” she said.

Invitation acceptedOSU has been selected to play in one of three NCAA postseason tournaments, the preliminary round to qualify for the NCAA Championship competition, for the 14th time in the last 16 years.

They will compete in the Central Regional held in Ann Arbor, Mich., May 10-12.

“It’s always nice to hear your name called just like the guys in the NFL draft,” Hession said. “You think you’re going to get called but it’s always nice to hear your name.”

Up until that point the team was unsure if it would be selected.

“Our coach was kind of nervous about making regionals this year because everything that could have happed did happen, including injuries to key players,” Je said.

Looking Ahead The Buckeyes believe they have a good chance to advance to the final round.

“We like our possibilities,” Hession said “We’re pretty familiar with the golf course. I think it favors us in a lot of ways.”

Je is confident about the regionals as well.

“I think we could have done better this tournament (Big Tens) but I think we’ll be more ready for the regionals,” she said. “I know it’s not going to be easy but I really trust my teammates.”

Tobias Moore can be reached at [email protected].