William Penn Athletics News–April 1
William Penn University Athletics
Statesmen Dominant on Home Turf
Oskaloosa–The William Penn women’s golf team raised winning hardware for the second time in four days at the Statesmen Shootout Tuesday.
The 23rd-ranked Statesmen were first out of six teams with a score of 313 at the par-71 Edmundson Golf Course. The program’s varsity reserve squad was second at 335, while St. Ambrose’s varsity score of 368 was a distant third.
Demi Coertze (So., Johannesburg, South Africa, Digital Communication) headlined the 34-player field with a 77 for her second-straight tournament title.
“Demi continues to play very well,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “She had a good round today and is continuing to build confidence in her approach mentally which has made all the difference in the world for her.”
Maggie Yang (Jr., Chino, Calif., Business Management) was right behind her teammate in a tie for second at 78, while Alexandria Eckenrod (Jr., Mason City, Iowa, Elementary Education) and Courtney Cunningham (Fr., Muskogee, Okla., Computer Science) broke the 80 barrier as well with matching 79s to tie for fourth.
Jing Yang (Fr., Woodland Hills, Calif., Biology) rounded out the varsity scoring with a seventh-place showing of 83.
Natalie Booton (So., Mount Pleasant, Elementary Education) paced the varsity reserve’s silver effort with a silver of her own at 78.
“I do not think anyone can argue that Natalie has worked as hard as anyone in the conference to get where she is today,” Rule said. “She is a perfect example of persevering. She was not happy with where her game was in the spring of last year and early this fall and she worked on all aspects with a positive attitude and a big picture perspective. She can do this every time she takes the course.”
An 80 (sixth place) was carded by Ashley Manhnieo (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management), while Carly Schmalz (Fr., Buffalo Lake, Minn., History/Government) joined the top-ten crew in a tie for tenth at 88.
Danielle Giannotti (Sr., Phoenix, Ariz., Psychology & Human Services), with an 89 (12th), and Alexi Rule (Fr., Idaho Falls, Idaho, Education), with a 91 (13th), played for the VR team as well. Lindsay Dorn (So., Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Elementary Education) posted a 94 as an individual to finish 16th overall.
“Today was a good confidence-builder for all of our players,” Rule said. “Winning each division was our goal and both teams did it by very wide margins and I am so proud of each of them. We like defending our home course and the girls did it and took pride in representing our school and our community at Edmundson.”
Next: William Penn travels to Riverside Saturday and Sunday to compete in the Blue Top Ridge Invitational at the Blue Top Ridge Golf Course.
WPU Takes Statesmen Shootout Crown
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s golf team broke the magic 300 mark for the first time this year and it was enough to lift the squad to its first title at the Statesmen Shootout Tuesday.
The Statesmen were first out of seven teams with a season-low score of 295 at the par-70 Edmundson Golf Course. The team was 27 strokes ahead of the next varsity squad as Iowa Wesleyan posted a 322. AIB’s first JV team was at 303 to place an unofficial second.
The tournament was split into two divisions–varsity and JV–and Dillon Wilson of AIB’s first JV team was the overall medalist at 71.
Brandon Dizon (Fr., San Leandro, Calif., Business Management) tied for second out of 39 players with a 72, while three other varsity members were in the top five as well.
Jeremy Swink (Jr., Burlington, Iowa, Education) was fourth at 73, while Kyle Hashimoto (Fr., Acampo, Calif., Undecided) and Byron Lindeque (Jr., Boksburg, South Africa, Public Accounting) tied for fifth at 75.
Tyler Lallier (Jr., Algona, Iowa, Business Management) rounded out the squad, tying for 11th with a 79.
Hank Bennett (Fr., Whitesboro, Texas, Biology) paced the third-place junior varsity squad. The junior varsity team shot a 320, headlined by Bennett’s 79. A score of 80 was then posted by both Charlie Hayes (Fr., Whitesboro, Texas, History/Government) and Terence Schafer (So., Solwezi, Zambia, Mechanical Engineering) to tie for 16th, while Ben Roberts (So., Albia, Iowa, Business Management) carded an 81 for 22nd. Zach McGriff (Fr., Grinnell, Iowa, Biology) and his 83 tied for 29th.
Jeremy White (Fr., Baytown, Texas, Mechanical Engineering) led a trio who played as individuals by recording an 80. Austin Bringman (Fr., Sigourney, Iowa, Psychology), who shot an 81, and Ethan Powers (So., Tipton, Iowa, Business Management), who was 35th at 89, also competed for the navy and gold.
Next: Due to weather, William Penn has chosen to withdraw from this weekend’s Blue Top Ridge Invitational. The team has replaced that event by traveling to Fort Madison Monday for the Iowa Wesleyan Invitational.
Navy and Gold 28th in Third Poll
Oskaloosa–The William Penn softball squad is on the verge of breaking into the top 25 as the NAIA released its third poll Tuesday.
Courtesy of a 5-1 week, William Penn (16-7, 4-0 MCC) advanced four more positions from last week’s rating up to #28 with 48 votes.
Concordia (Calif.) remains #1 with 560 points and all 20 first-place votes. Auburn-Montgomery (Ala.), LSU Alexandria (La.), Saint Xavier (Ill.), and St. Gregory’s (Okla.) round out the top five.
Grand View is also representing the Midwest Collegiate Conference in the poll at #39 (four votes).
William Penn travels to Davenport Wednesday to face St. Ambrose in an MCC doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m.
