Central second at Simpson women’s golf tourney

Central College

INDIANOLA — It was a bumpy outing but the Central College women’s golf team still managed a second-place finish at the six-team Simpson Fall Invitational Monday.

Central turned in a 384 at the par-71 Indianola Country Club. Des Moines Area Community College won with 365 while Coe was third at 318, followed by Simpson at 418.

Freshman Christine Ausman (Nevada) was team medalist for the first time, carding a 90 to take third overall. Chelsey Shuey (junior, Ames) shot 97, Kelsey Van Tasell (senior, Pella) slid to an uncharacteristic 98, Rachel Cassens (junior, Stockton, Ill.) had 99 and Molly Timmerman (freshman, Dubuque) shot 100.

Competing as at-large entries, Valorie Taylor (freshman, Hartley, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn HS) shot 97 and Alison Kretzinger (freshman, Johnston) had 102.

“It was just one of those days,” coach Tim Wilkinson said. “It was a combination of things. It’s a tough course if you haven’t seen it before. There are a lot of blind shots. And it was 6,000 yards. On some of the par-5s, no one could get there in three.

“It was good to have one player (Ausman) finish in the top three but other than that, we just need to go back and work on the things we need to improve.”

And there were positive signs amid the high numbers.

“Some things actually went a lot better,” Wilkinson said. “Some of the players who have struggled with their ball striking hit the ball pretty well. But their chipping and putting wasn’t very good today.”

Central returns to Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls Sunday, playing host to a quadrangular with William Penn, Simpson and Grinnell. It will be the third round at Pheasant Ridge for the Dutch this fall, as they prepare for the first 36 holes of the Iowa Conference tournament to be played there Sept. 26-27.

“It’s very intentional,” Wilkinson said of the scheduling. “We want the players to feel comfortable there and to get some confidence leading into conference.”