Tourney Streak Ends at Ashford Invite
William Penn Women's Athletics
Riverside–Everyone has a bad day from time to time, but unfortunately it seemed like all of those days came on the same weekend for the William Penn women’s golf team as it competed at the Ashford Spring Invitational Friday and Saturday.
The 25th-ranked Lady Statesmen posted their two worst back-to-back rounds of the year, but still almost came away with the crown. The navy and gold were second out of nine teams with a two-day score of 697 (343-354) at the par-73 Blue Top Ridge Golf Course. It is the first time in four events that William Penn has not been tournament champion.
Grand View rallied Saturday to win the title at 691 (347-344). It also had the medalist as Kenzie Rottinghaus shot a 163 (85-78).
“We just did not play well this weekend, but that is golf and it will happen from time to time,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “We have experienced so much success this year and have very high expectations, so although we finished second in a nine-team field, it still stings. We want to win every time we take the course and our ladies have the desire and work hard to make that happen.”
Maggie Yang (Fr., Chino, Calif., Diamond Bar HS) placed fifth in a solid field with a tally of 167 (84-83). Courtney Kronmuller (Jr., Fountain Valley, Calif., Fullerton CC) posted an 81 on Friday to share the individual lead, but struggled Saturday for a 90. She still joined Yang in the top ten, taking eighth at 171.
Dena Stevens (Sr., Oskaloosa, Oskaloosa HS) tied for 14th at 179 (92-87), while Mayci Rule (So., Idaho Falls, Idaho, Skyline HS) shared 17th place at 181 (87-94).
Ashley Manhnieo (Fr., Las Vegas, Nev., Olathe Northwest HS) rounded out the varsity scoring at 186 (91-95) to tie for 24th.
“I believe a lot of good will come from our experience this weekend,” Rule said. “I am a firm believer that you can learn just as much from your losses as you can from your wins. I know we walked away from the course with a greater understanding of who we are and what we are capable of. The most important message we will take away from the weekend is that our players realize that our biggest strength is our team and we need to focus on our results and not on how other teams are doing. If we focus on our game and our team score, winning will take care of itself.”
“This team is very close and its members share the same desire and passion and they will work hard this week to make the necessary corrections,” Rule added. “We will bounce back better than before.”
Next: William Penn travels to Panora next Friday and Saturday to compete in the AIB Spring Invitational. Play will be contested at Lake Panorama National Golf Course.
