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| Meghann Greene |
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — It wasn't the finish that the Wittenberg Tigers envisioned after a school-record performance on the opening day of the Pat Clouse Invitational, but Head Coach Jeff Roope will certainly take a third place finish in the strong 18-team field.
The Tigers finished behind only Washington University and DePauw, two of the top 10 teams in the national rankings currently. Wittenberg showed its youth and inexperience, following a school-record 309 in the opening round at Windy Golf Club with a 333 on Day 2 to finish a deceiving 32 strokes off Washington University's pace. The Bears led by just five strokes after the first round, but they wound up 23 strokes clear of DePauw in the final standings.
Olivia Lugar of Washington University was the individual medalist as she looped the par-71, 5860-yard course in rounds of 73 and 74 to win by three strokes over DePauw's Kelly Gaughan. The Bears' Hannah Buck and Taylor Fagan were next with matching 151s to finish in a tie for third place, followed by Wittenberg sophomore Deanna Mychalishyn (Mason, Ohio/Mason), who rounded out the top with a two-day total of 154.
Mychalishyn matched the school record with a 75 in the opening round, and she followed that up with a 79. Right behind her was freshman Nicole Waers (Canton, Ohio/Perry), who added rounds of 76 and 79 to earn a sixth-place tie at 155.
Unfortunately, the other three Tigers playing with Wittenberg's A team struggled after strong opening rounds. Freshman Rachel Steiner (Hamilton, Ohio/Lakota West) carded rounds of 77 and 86 to finish in a tie for 18th place, freshmanCarolyn Wong (Naperville, Ill./Central) added rounds of 82 and 89 to place 37th and senior Anne Busam (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) round things out with rounds of 81 and 91 to place 38th.
Wittenberg's B team tied for ninth in the competition, led by junior Meghann Greene (North Royalton, Ohio/Padua Franciscan), who followed a first-round 85 with a sizzling 75 on Day 2 to also match the program standard established two years ago by Busam. She placed 13th in the competition, moving up more than 30 spots with her strong second round performance.
The event marked the conclusion of Wittenberg's fall 2011 season. The spring campaign will open with a Spring Break trip in early March 2012.