Women Rally for Bronze in Fall Finale
William Penn University Athletics
Oklahoma City, Okla.–The William Penn women’s golf team started slowly, but regrouped in a big way as it closed out its fall season at the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic hosted by Oklahoma City Monday and Tuesday.
#20 WPU tied for third out of 11 teams with a three-round score of 947 (335-308-304) at the par-72 Lincoln Park GC (West Course). #4 Oklahoma City rolled to the team title at 896 (301-298-297), while #12 Texas Wesleyan was a distant second. The Statesmen tied #17 Marian (Ind.) and beat #19 Wayland Baptist (Texas) which finished sixth.
Anna Mikish of OCU was first out of 67 players at one-over-par 217 (71-71-75).
Elise Warne (So., Melbourne, Australia, Exercise Science) and Brittany Evans (Fr., Fernley, Nev., Business Management) just missed the top 10, tying for 13th at 234; Warne posted scores of 87-72-75 and Evans had scores of 81-79-74.
“Elise and Brittany showed why they are quickly becoming our go-to 1-2 punch in the lineup,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “They both have grown up immensely this fall.”
Helene Larsen (So., Viborg, Denmark, Business Management) was next in 29th at 246 (84-80-82), while Miranda Keeler (Jr., Plattsmouth, Neb., Communications) tied for 32nd at 250 (83-89-78).
Jodi Saito (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii, Education) had an unfortunate start to her tournament as she was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard in the opening round. The senior bounced right back, though, tallying consecutive 77s.
Courtney Cunningham (Sr., Muskogee, Okla., Computer Science) guided a trio of individuals as she tied for 20th at 240 (86-74-80). Megan Rhoads (So., Schertz, Texas, Psychology), in 28th place (82-84-79–245), and Alexis Guimaraes (Fr., San Ramon, Calif., Psychology), in a tie for 45th (90-85-84–259), also competed for the navy and gold.
“This was a great finish to our fall season,” Rule said. “After the first 18 holes, we were very unhappy with the way our players handled themselves; the body language was counterproductive and it led to less-than-satisfactory results. I talked to all of them before the second round and reminded them of the expectations in our program and they responded very well. It was a great wake-up call and I am proud of how they immediately got back on the right track.”
“The best teams in the country have a very mature and productive way in which they handle themselves,” Rule added. “They never get too high or too low. We have preached that all year to our players and they are starting to put it into action on a more regular basis.”
