Oklahoma City, Okla.–The Statesmen women’s golf team proved once again its top-25 ranking is not a fluke as it stayed in contention from start to finish at the Oklahoma City Classic Monday and Tuesday.
#25 William Penn tied for fifth out of 11 teams with a 54-hole score of 945 (319-313-313) at the par-72 Lincoln Park Golf Course (East Course). #3 Oklahoma City rolled to an easy win at 886 (298-296-292).
The Statesmen, who set a new 54-hole record (old mark was 947 last fall in Oklahoma), were just 16 strokes behind second place and #10 Texas Wesleyan. #27 Bellevue and #31 Rocky Mountain were also in the field.
Caroline Goodin of Oklahoma City earned the medalist win at 217 (74-73-70).
Elise Warne (So., Melbourne, Australia, Exercise Science) headlined the navy and gold attack at the 72-player field as she tied for 17th at 233 (78-78-77).
Helene Larsen (So., Viborg, Denmark, Business Management) was next in a tie for 28th at 237 (78-80-79), while Courtney Cunningham (Sr., Muskogee, Okla., Computer Science) was also in the top 30, tying for 30th at 239 (86-74-79).
Jodi Saito (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii, Education), in 32nd at 240 (80-81-79), and Miranda Keeler (Jr., Plattsmouth, Neb., Communications), in a tie for 37th at 245 (83-84-78), rounded out the varsity scoring.
Individually, Brittany Evans (Fr., Fernley, Nev., Business Management) (T-33rd, 83-77-82–242) and Brooke Fletcher (Jr., Atlantic, Iowa, Business Management) (T-54th, 82-87-85–254) also competed in the Classic.
“This was an incredibly beneficial tournament for us in our process to peak at the right time,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “Through 36 holes, the only difference between us and the #10 team in the country was the amount of double bogeys we took and that is a sign we are beating ourselves. We were ahead of them with pars and birdies though. Statistically, for the first time in the history of our program, we could look at one solid thing that is the difference between us and the best in the nation and we challenged our players to make the adjustment and they did very well in the final round doing just that.”
“Our staff loves this team; they respond so well to everything we challenge them to do,” Rule added. “They have the best attitude of any team we have coached and the most talent. We are just inexperienced when it comes to big tournaments and every tournament like this helps us gain that experience. We are on the right track and we are very focused.”
Next Up: William Penn returns to Oskaloosa next Monday and Tuesday to host the Mike “Fluff” Cowan Invitational. Play will be contested at Edmundson Golf Course.
