Spring Season Opens with Tournament Title

William Penn Athletics

William Penn Athletics

Moravia–Four titles in the fall were no fluke as the Statesmen women’s golf team began the more important segment of its campaign with yet another a win at the Iowa Intercollegiate Championships Sunday and Monday.

William Penn won the eight-team tournament with a two-day score of 634 (310-324) at The Preserve Golf Course. The 310 score on the first day set a new tournament record as did the 634 two-day tally. NCAA Division II Truman (Mo.) was a distant second at 660 (332-328).

Maggie Yang (Sr., Chino, Calif., Biology) won the medalist crown at the Championships for the third time, posting a 155 (77-78). Teammate Demi Coertze (Jr., Johannesburg, South Africa, Digital Communication) was just three strokes back as she tied for third at 158 (77-81).

“Our 1-2 punch of Maggie and Demi continued to lead us this week,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “Their leadership and experience on the course is something we value a lot.”

Also in the top five was Jing Yang (So., Woodland Hills, Calif., Biology), who was on top of the leaderboard after 18 holes with a tourney-low 74. She finished at 159 (74-85) to take fifth.

“Golf is a game of confidence,” Rule said. “Everyone at some point struggles with it and Jing has done some excellent work getting her confidence back and her performance shows that.”

Fellow varsity players Alexandria Eckenrod (Sr., Mason City, Iowa, Elementary Education) (11th, 81-84–165) and Natalie Booton (Jr., Mount Pleasant, Elementary Education) (T-12th, 82-84–166) just placed outside the top 10 in the 48-player field.

The varsity reserve squad was also in action, taking third at 667 (336-331). Jodi Saito (So., Mililani, Hawaii, Education) and Courtney Cunningham (So., Muskogee, Okla., Computer Science) paced the group as they tied for eighth at 164. Saito shot 81-83 and Cunningham posted scores of 84 and 80.

Carly Schmalz (So., Buffalo Lake, Minn., American Government) was next in 15th at 169 (87-82), while Alexi Rule (So., Idaho Falls, Idaho, Education) tied for 16th at 170 (84-86). Brooke Fletcher (Fr., Atlantic, Iowa, Business Management) rounded out the scoring at 176 (90-86) to tie for 25th.

Individuals Jordan Postma (Fr., Marion, Iowa, Biology) (37th, 95-94–189) and Aramina Flores (Fr., Corpus Christi, Texas, History/Government) (T-45th, 98-102–200) competed in the spring opener as well.

“I am proud of the way we handled ourselves mentally,” Rule said. “We looked very professional, calm, and in control. That is something we have worked on a lot and the entire team was outstanding in that area.”

Next Up: William Penn travels to Fulton, Mo. next Monday and Tuesday to compete in the William Woods Invitational. Play will be held at Tanglewood Golf Course.

Posted by on Mar 24 2015. Filed under College Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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