SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers rounded out the most successful fall season in the program's 10-year history with a second-place finish in the Pat Clouse Invitational at historic Springfield Country Club.
After posting a team score of 321 in Saturday's opening round, the Tigers maintained their pace in Round 2 to finish with a 322 and a two-day total of 643. That score was 10 strokes behind Ithaca, which won the Pat Clouse Invitational for a second consecutive year.
The event served as a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) preview of sorts as well, with all seven teams in the league involved in the 15-team field. DePauw, the champion each of the last three years, was tops among the league challengers in third place, 16 strokes behind Wittenberg.
While the Tigers performed well as a team, the top Tiger in the final standings was among the team members participating as an individual. Junior Maggie Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) placed second with a two-round total of nine-over-par 153, two strokes behind medalist Kimberley Wong of Ithaca.
Senior Nicole Waers (Canton, Ohio/Perry) was tops among the players with scores counting toward the team total, as she posted a two-round score of 159 to place sixth. Freshman Jane Hopkinson-Wood (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) was right behind in seventh place with a 160, followed by sophomore Macy Hubbard (Mason, Ohio/Mason) in ninth with a 161.
Rounding out the team scorers were senior Rachel Steiner (Hamilton, Ohio/Lakota East) with a 163 to finish 11th and junior Allie Lawwill (Springboro, Ohio/Middletown) with a 167 to place 18th.
Three other Tigers posted top-25 finishes in the 93-player field: senior Carolyn Wong (Naperville, Ill./Central) with a 167 to finish 14th, freshman Brianna Yee (Las Vegas, Nev./Faith Lutheran) with a 169 to place 18th, and senior Savannah Fox (Massillon, Ohio/Perry) with a 173 to finish 24th.
The Tigers will now turn their attention to offseason conditioning and practices before returning to competition in March 2015.
Written By: Ryan Maurer