Both the men’s and women’s golf teams have seen recent success out on the course. Last weekend, both teams traveled to Mitchell, S.D. The women’s team took second out of eight squads, and the men came out on top of eight teams.
The Lady Raiders finished the two-day, 36-hole meet with a total score of 691, just 16 strokes behind Dakota Wesleyan. The men’s side shot a total 574, 36 strokes in front of the second place and a team best overall by one point.
The first round was played was Lakeview Golf Club. The second day the teams competed at Wild Oaks Golf Club.
Sophomore Emma Wynja won the tournament in a playoff. Wynja shot par on the playoff hole.
Another exciting performance came from senior Leigh Van Hove, who shot a personal record of 168 and finished fourth overall. Other top-20 finishes came from junior Taylor Kline, who tied for 13th shooting 179 and sophomore Betsy Wallin tying for 18th shooting a 181.
Sophomore Jessica Locker finished the meet 27th shooting a 190 overall.
“I think we were fairly happy as a team with our performance in the Dakota Wesleyan meet,” Wynja said. “There is always room for improvement, but second place is not far off from where we would like to be.”
The Raider men took four of the top five spots and had all five golfers in the top ten on the weekend. Leading the men’s side was junior Ryan Kiewiet, who shot a school record in the first round with a 66 and finished the meet with a 139.
“I put a full round together and didn’t waste any strokes,” Kiewiet said.
Junior Neil Malenke finished in second place with a 144 and was followed by sophomore Jay Monahan, who carded a 146.
Junior Kyle Stanek took fifth place with a 148, and senior Michael Dykema tied for ninth and tallied 152.
“Now that we are the top team in the conference, we need to stay focused over the longer lay-off,” Monahan said.
The next meet for the men will be on October 4 at Briar Cliff.
The women’s team also traveled to Wilderness Ridge in Lincoln, Nebraksa to compete in the GPAC Preview this past Monday and Tuesday and finished the meet in 13th place. They finished the first round with a 360, and a 367 the following day.
The top finishers for the Lady Raiders were Wynja, tying for 28th and shooting 169, Kline finishing tied for 56th with a 182, and Wallin tying for 59th, and shooting a 183.
“As a whole, it will be important for our team to prepare well before the GPAC and to play with confidence in these upcoming meets,” Wynja said.
The women’s next meet will be at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Briar Cliff.
