William Penn Demolishes Records En Route to Another Silver
William Penn Women’s Athletics
Lincoln, Neb.–The Statesmen women’s golf team showed its potential by posting record-breaking results at the Nebraska Wesleyan Invitational Sunday and Monday.
William Penn placed second out of 12 teams at the par-72 Mahoney Golf Course and par-73 Holmes Golf Course. What was really special was how the squad got there as it broke its 18 (307 on Monday) and 36-hole (323-307–630) marks. The 307 on the par-73 track set another mark, this time for score-against-par at +15.
Iowa Western CC was even better, though, by finishing at 606 (305-301). Joana Yanez of IWCC won the individual crown by going into the red with a one-under 144 (71-73).
Maggie Yang (Jr., Chino, Calif., Biology) guided the incredible showing with records of her own. Her 72 on Monday equaled her own record from last week, but is technically a new mark as it is one better versus par at -1. It is the first time a WPU player has ever broken par. Coupled with that was a 79 on Sunday to finish in a tie for third out of 75 players at 151.
“Maggie again showed that her work ethic and dedication to the game is helping propel her results to another level,” Head Coach Nik Rule said. “Since her freshman year I have known that Maggie could consistently be around even par and her game has matured enough for her to realize that.”
Alexandria Eckenrod (Jr., Mason City, Iowa, Elementary Education), with an 82-77, and Jing Yang (Fr., Woodland Hills, Calif., Biology), with a 79-80, both tied for seventh at 159.
Demi Coertze (So., Johannesburg, South Africa, Digital Communication) narrowly missed the top ten by placing 12th at 161 (83-78). Ashley Manhnieo (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., Business Management) rounded out the varsity in a tie for 19th at 170 (85-85).
Natalie Booton (So., Mount Pleasant, Elementary Education) paced a trio of Statesmen individuals, tying for 13th at 164 (82-82), while Alexi Rule (Fr., Idaho Falls, Idaho, Education) tied for 19th at 170 (86-84) and Courtney Cunningham (Fr., Muskogee, Okla., Computer Science) tied for 22nd at 172 (89-83).
“Our coaching staff is very happy with the way our players performed, especially today,” Rule said. “Over the past few years we have been somewhat inconsistent on day two of tournaments, and it has been something that we have talked about a lot with our current team. Today’s results show that they are not only listening, but that they are working to turn what we say into productive results on the golf course.”
“Entering this season, I thought that this team had the potential to go under 310,” Rule added. “Now that they have, they believe that they can and should do it every time they take the golf course. The best teams in the nation shoot low 300s and I feel like we are as deep as many of them. We just have such great depth right now. We had seven of our eight players in the top 20, and we are thrilled about how our younger players are developing.”
Next: William Penn travels back to Lincoln, Neb. next Monday and Tuesday to compete in the NAIA Preview at Wilderness Ridge Golf Course.
“This is a great result as we head into the NAIA Preview,” Rule said. “We have realized what our potential is and now we just have to duplicate this result.”
