William Penn Takes Rain-Shortened Iowa Central Invite
William Penn University Athletics
Ankeny–All five members of the Statesmen women’s golf team placed in the top 10 as it claimed the title at the Iowa Central CC Invitational Saturday and Sunday.
In an event that was shortened to 27 holes due to rainy conditions, #23 WPU was first out of 10 teams with a score of 449 (305-144) at Otter Creek Golf Course.
Sunday’s 144 sets a new nine-hole school record, snapping the old mark of 150 from 2014. The program’s 27-hole record was also broken.
Courtney Cunningham (Sr., Muskogee, Okla., Computer Science) tied for first in the 61-player field at 111 (74-37). She unfortunately could not walk away with the medalist honor, falling to Jaime Bellingham of Des Moines Area CC on the second hole of the playoff.
Elise Warne (So., Melbourne, Australia, Exercise Science) was just one shot back of also being in the playoff, placing third at 112 (76-36). Cunningham and Warne were part of the three-person all-tournament team.
Miranda Keeler (Jr., Plattsmouth, Neb., Communications), at 78-36, and Jodi Saito (Sr., Mililani, Hawaii, Education), at 79-35, both tied for fourth at 114. Saito’s one-under effort in the nine-hole round tied William Penn’s record.
Helene Larsen (So., Viborg, Denmark, Business Management) wrapped up the varsity scoring by finishing sixth at 115 (77-38).
On the individual side, Brittany Evans (Fr., Fernley, Nev., Business Management) was ninth overall at 79-41–120, while Brooke Fletcher (Jr., Atlantic, Iowa, Business Management) was 13th at 84-43–127.
“We are really starting to piece everything together,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “We are very happy with the attitude and the progress of our players. They are reaping the benefits of doing the right things.”
“Our first round was very good, but we still left a lot of shots out on the course,” Rule added. “There were some small mistakes, including just not paying attention to details, but we still scored well. We really wanted to play the full 18 holes on Sunday as we felt we were in position to break 300 and the 144 on the first nine holes proves that.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Oklahoma City, Okla. on April 10-11 to compete in the Oklahoma City Classic. Play will be contested at Lincoln Park (East Course) Golf Course.
