Storm Lake–Another event meant another crown for the Statesmen women’s golf team as it cruised at the Buena Vista Invitational Saturday and Sunday.
#21 WPU was first out of 11 teams with a final tally of 632 (316-316) at the par-72 Lake Creek Country Club. Briar Cliff was second at 674 (339-335), while fellow Heart of America Athletic Conference program Peru State was fifth at 699.
Jodi Saito (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii, Education) and Brittany Evans (Fr., Fernley, Nev., Business Management) tied for first place in the 71-player field at 157. The pair then faced off with Briar Cliff’s Taylor Minger in a playoff where Saito tallied a par to win the individual title; Evans was second.
Saito carded scores of 78-79, while Evans shot an 81 and then a 76.
“Jodi and Brittany were excellent, and when conditions became more difficult on day two they really dug deep to help carry the team,” Head Coach Nik Rule said.
The remainder of the varsity finished in the top 10 as well with Courtney Cunningham (Sr., Muskogee, Okla., Computer Science) placing fourth at 159 (78-81). Helene Larsen (So., Viborg, Denmark, Business Management) was next in fifth at 161 (79-82), and Elise Warne (So., Melbourne, Australia, Exercise Science) tied for seventh at 165 (85-80).
Four additional individuals played for the Statesmen as well. The trio of Carly Schmalz (Sr., Buffalo Lake, Minn., History/Government) (80-85), Alexis Guimaraes (Fr., San Ramon, Calif., Psychology) (86-79), and Miranda Keeler (Jr., Plattsmouth, Neb., Communications) (81-84) all tied Schmalz for seventh. Brooke Fletcher (Jr., Atlantic, Iowa, Business Management) narrowly missed the top 10, placing 11th at 166 (82-84).
“We have now accomplished our goal of winning the first three events of the season,” Rule said. “It puts us in a good spot as we head into the heart of our fall schedule.”
“We did not really do anything terrible this weekend, but we also did not do anything spectacular,” Rule added. “Sometimes you do not have your best game and we did not have ours, but we still produced respectable results.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Clayton, Ind. next Saturday and Sunday to compete in the Dan Quayle Collegiate Classic hosted by De Pauw University. Play will be contested at Deer Creek Golf Course.
Story provided by Wade Steinlage
