The Northwestern women’s golf team placed fifth at the Concordia Bulldog Invite, their first tournament of the spring season. The team shot a 342, just six strokes short of fourth place Bellevue University and 21 strokes short of tournament champions Morningside College.
Freshman Kate Wynja led the team with an 83, and senior Shayla Murray followed closely behind at 84, both placing in the top 15 at T13 and T15. Senior Anna Perrenoud contributed to the total by adding an 87, and sophomore Hayley Carlson added the fourth score to the total with an 88. Junior Chanda Zomermaand shot 91, and sophomore Sam Vander Velde rounded out the scores with a 99.
An Iowa Western golfer took home medalist honors at 76 with a pair of Morningside golfers following closely behind at 77. Iowa Western is not a GPAC member, but Morningside has been leading the conference in recent years.
Originally a two-day tournament, inclement weather including rain prompted a cancellation of Friday’s round.
The women toughed out some harsh conditions as Lincoln felt like 45 degrees and strong wind gusts made it hard to reach the greens in regulation or estimate yardages. The unknown of slow, rough spring greens added in an extra challenge for the golfers.
“It was a good first tournament considering the weather conditions,” Murray said. “We have worked really hard this off season and hopefully it will pay off in tournaments. We are excited to see what we can accomplish this spring.”
The women are currently sitting in third in the GPAC Championship that began last fall and will continue on April 26 and 27 in York, Nebraska. The team’s final round last fall was the second lowest the program has ever recorded at 328 — just two strokes short of the record. Carlson is sitting in ninth place after two solid rounds, and Wynja and Zomermaand are tied for 17th.
The women continue their season next week at the Doane Invite on April 11 in Crete, Nebraska. The final regular season tournament will be over Easter break at the Dordt Invite in Sioux Center on April 18 and 19.
Although the team had just two days of outdoor practice at Landsmeer Golf Course, they enjoyed a spring break trip to Mesa, Arizona, last month where they played 72 holes and took lessons from a pair of golf professionals.
