Statesmen One Stroke Shy of Upset
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Valley, Neb.–For the third event in a row, the William Penn women’s golf team has been on the cusp of a big title, and on Monday and Tuesday at the Bellevue Invitational, the Statesmen could not have come any closer in their upset bid.
#20 William Penn was second in the six-team event with a two-day score of 617 (306-311) at The Pines Country Club–a par-72 layout. #11 Bellevue overcame a one-stroke deficit after the first day to slip past the navy and gold by one stroke, posting a 616 (307-309). WPU’s 617 was its second-lowest–in regards to par–in program history as it was +41 over par.
Maisy Turner of Iowa Western CC paced the 39-player field with a four-under 139 (68-71), while Demi Coertze (Jr., Johannesburg, South Africa, Digital Communication) tied for second at 147 (73-74). The junior’s three-over-par 36-hole tally ties for the lowest mark (in regards to par) ever at William Penn.
“Demi led the charge for us,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “She was very consistent and played with a high level of confidence which was contagious to the rest of the team.”
Maggie Yang (Sr., Chino, Calif., Biology) and Jing Yang (So., Woodland Hills, Calif., Biology) also finished in the top 10; Maggie was fifth at 150 (75-75) and Jing was seventh at 157 (79-78).
Natalie Booton (Jr., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Elementary Education) tied for 13th at 163 (79-84) and Courtney Cunningham (So., Muskogee, Okla., Computer Science) rounded out the varsity team’s scoring in a tie for 19th (84-85–169).
Alexandria Eckenrod (Sr., Mason City, Iowa, Elementary Education) played as an individual and took 16th at 165 (83-82).
“We competed this week like we know we are capable of and that is fun to see,” Rule said. “For a while now we have felt like we can play with the best in the country and the results back that up. Bellevue is a great team; they finished third at nationals last year and have all their players back. They are well-coached and we enjoyed competing against them. The ladies were disappointed falling just short, but they are hungry and ready for postseason play.”
Next Up: William Penn takes nearly two weeks off before traveling to Riverside to compete in the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships on April 28-29. Play will be contested at Blue Top Ridge Golf Course.
