ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A tournament that included no less than six nationally ranked NCAA Division III teams offered an opportunity for the Wittenberg women's golf team to make a statement. The Tigers did just that, breaking multiple school records en route to a fourth-place finish in a loaded 18-team field.
Wittenberg broke team records for one-round and two-round totals, and freshmanNicole Waers (Canton, Ohio/Perry) broke the school record for both one-round and two-round individual totals as well. The Tigers carded a two-day total of 622 to finish just 11 strokes off the pace set by scholarship program William Woods and host Washington University. Drury, another scholarship program, finished at 617 to take third place.
Wittenberg shot a 315 on Day 1, which was better than the school record coming into the 2011-12 season but six strokes off the new standard posted on the first day of Wittenberg's Pat Clouse Invitational in October 2011. In the second round, the Tigers shot a 307 to narrowly set the new one-day mark and cement the best two-day score in program history.
The Tigers were unable to keep pace with Washington University, but Wittenberg did finish ahead of five other nationally ranked teams, in addition to North Central University, which is in the "Others Receiving Votes" category along with Wittenberg in the latest National Golf Coaches Association poll. Two of the teams that finished behind Wittenberg were St. Olaf and Illinois Wesleyan, ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, in the most recent poll.
Individually, Waers ends up the top story, but it was balance that keyed the Tigers' strong team finish as four players broke 80 on the opening day and three stayed below that plateau in the second round. Waers showed the way, following her 79 on Day 1 with a record-breaking 73 on Sunday to finish in a 10th-place tie with a score of 152.
The previous school record of 75 was held by three players. That mark was matched by freshman Rachel Steiner (Hamilton, Ohio/Lakota West), who carded rounds of 78 and 75 to finish tied for 12th in the final standings, just one stroke behind Waers, who set a new two-round program standard.
Sophomore Deanna Mychalishyn (Mason, Ohio/Mason) was outstanding as well, placing 16th with a two-day total of 158. Freshman Carolyn Wong (Naperville, Ill./Central) and senior Anne Busam (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) rounded things out for the Tigers with scores of 160 and 161, respectively, good for 23rd and 28th place.
Also of note, senior Carrie Frey (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) placed 36th with a two-day total of 163. She was playing as an individual in the competition.