Maggie Prokop
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Wittenberg Tigers rallied on Day 2 of the Illinois Wesleyan Invitational, moving up four spots with one of the best rounds in program history. The Tigers finished eighth in a strong 22-team field that included some of the top teams in NCAA Division III and three scholarship programs.
Wittenberg followed a Day 1 score of 342 with a blistering 327 on Sunday, the second-best round in the program's seven-year history. It all added up to two-round total of 669, just four spots behind scholarship program Marian (Ind.) for seventh place and 59 strokes back of scholarship program William Woods University, the event winner.
After shooting an uncharacteristic 88 in the first round, freshman Maggie Prokop (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) spearheaded the comeback with a 77 on Day 2. Her 21-over-par finish was good for a team-best 21st-place finish on the 5,835-yard, par-72 Ironwood Golf Club course. Her second-day score was the second-best in program history, two strokes behind a round of 75 carded by junior Anne Busam (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) a year ago.
Busam also made a big move on the second day of the tournament, bettering her 86 on Day 1 by six strokes to move into a tie for 28th place with a two-day total of 166. She was followed by freshman Deanna Michalishyn (Mason, Ohio/Mason), who shot 170 to finish in a tie for 47th place. Rounding things out were juniorNicole Momsen (Sylvania, Ohio/St. Ursula) with a 172, good for a tie for 57th, and freshman Mary Eighmy (Erie, Pa./McDowell) with a 173, good for a tie for 69th.
The Tigers hit the road again next weekend. Wittenberg will once again be measured against some of the nation's finest programs at the DePauw Small College Classic.