Lady Statesmen Storm Back for Silver in Opening Tourney
William Penn Women’s Golf at the Mount Mercy Invite (submitted photo)
Marion–A tremendous second day nearly brought the William Penn women’s golf team a season-opening crown at the Mount Mercy Invitational Friday and Saturday.
The Lady Statesmen finished second out of 15 teams with a final tally of 675 (340-335) at the par-72 Hunters Ridge Golf Course. NCAA Division II Truman (Mo.) just held off the surge of the navy and gold, winning by the slimmest of margins of one stroke at 674.
After a weekend-best round 322 on Friday, the Bulldogs struggled Saturday for a 352 posting, while William Penn’s 335 was the top team score on Saturday. The Lady Statesmen jumped two spots on Day Two, passing Midwest Collegiate Conference foes Grand View (4th, 683) and St. Ambrose (5th, 684). Luther was third at 682.
Grand View had the individual medalist in Kenzie Rottinghaus, who shot a 157 (78-79) to lead the 74-person field.
Courtney Kronmuller (Sr., Fountain Valley, Calif., Fullerton CC) topped William Penn by tying for second, four strokes back of Rottinghaus at 161 (81-80).
Right on her heels were teammates Maggie Yang (Fr., Chino, Calif., Diamond Bar HS) and Demi Coertze (Fr., Johannesburg, South Africa, Edenvale HS). Yang was fourth with a 164 (85-79), while Coertze was tied for fifth in her collegiate debut at 166 (82-84).
“Courtney, Maggie, and Demi showed why they can be three of the best players in the conference,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “No other team had three players in the top-10; that just shows how deep we are and that we have talent throughout our entire lineup.”
Ashley Manhnieo (So., Las Vegas, Nev., Olathe Northwest HS) was the next-highest varsity player for the Lady Statesmen, tying for 39th at 187 (95-92). Mayci Rule (Sr., Idaho Falls, Idaho, Skyline HS) rounded out the lineup in 57th at 199 (92-107).
Natalie Booton (Fr., Mount Pleasant, Mount Pleasant HS), playing as an individual in her first college event, tied for 28th at 178 (84-94).
“We learned a lot about where we are and what we need to do to get to where we want to be,” Rule said. “I definitely do not think we played to our full potential, but after a sloppy performance Friday, we roared back and blew away the rest of the field on Saturday. That type of resilience shows a lot about our ladies. They will continue to fight, and when the conditions were bad and all the other teams were struggling, we improved and were just two strokes shy of running away with the championship.”
“Overall, finishing second is a good start to the season, especially with a field of 15 teams and over 70 players,” Rule added. “Yet, in order to be where we want to be, we will need to have our top three continue to improve and lead the way in tournaments like they did this weekend. We also must have more consistent play out of our #4 and #5 spots. We have a very deep team; everyone is going to get their shot to step up and help the team. In the end, we will do what is best for the team and what will give us the best chance to win each time we take the course.”
Next: William Penn is off one week, returning to action September 15-16 by traveling to La Crosse, Wis. to compete in the Viterbo Invitational at the La Crosse CC.
