BECKER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's golf team saved their best for last Monday afternoon at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships.
 
The Cardinals—who opened the 54-hole season-ending tournament with a 397 on Saturday and followed that up with a 384 during Sunday's second round—whittled another six shots off its best round of the tournament with a closing 378 on Monday for a 1159 total and a ninth-place team finish.
 
Kaitlin Kling (LeRoy, Minn.) and Michaela Heuckendorf (Plymouth, Minn.) stuck wit the theme of the day, posting their best rounds of the championships on Monday, as Kling carded a tournament-low 86 and Heuckendorf chipped in a 90.
 
Kling, playing in the final MIAC Championships of her collegiate career, posted a team-best 261 54-hole total, shooting rounds of 87-87-86. Paula Avila (Weslaco, Texas)—also making her final conference championships appearance—finished with a 295 total (108-92-95). Heuckendorf, whose final-round 90 was just one shot off her career-best, chipped in a 297 (105-102-90), with Grace Gills (New Ulm, Minn. / 97-102-107—306) and Annika Blesener (North St. Paul, Minn. / 109-111-112—332) rounding out the Saint Mary's lineup.
 
Carleton, behind the medalist performance of Ziyi Wang, took home the team title, finishing with a 924 54-hole total and a 19-stroke win over runner-up Saint Benedict. St. Thomas placed third (952), with St. Catherine (966) and Gustavus (975) rounding out the top five.
 
Wang shot a final-round five-over-par 77 for a 224 total (73-74-77) to outdistance St. Thomas' Emily Thul (77-74-76—227) and Bethel's Christine Piwinca (78-74-75—227) by three shots. Carleton's Abby Euyang placed fourth at 230 (74-75-81), while Saint Benedict's Natalie Amundson (78-75-80—233) and Bridget Amundson (82-74-77—233) finished tied for fifth.