BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A long road trip south proved very rewarding for the Wittenberg women's golf team, which placed seventh in the 22-team Birmingham-Southern College Southern Shootout.
The Tigers posted strong scores of 310 and 306 in the two-day competition, played at the 5,801-yard, par-70 course at Highland Park Golf Club. The 310 in the opening round was just three off the school record of 307, a mark broken less than 24 hours later.
The previous record was established at the Washington University Invitational on April 1, 2012. That day, Wittenberg posted a score of 307 en route to a fourth place finish in the tournament.
The Southern Shootout field included numerous NCAA Division II and NAIA scholarship programs, including the top two in the final standings. Lee University blistered the course for a two-day total of 587, followed by Cumberlands with a 594.
Positions 3 through 7 were taken by NCAA Division III programs, starting with Centre with a score of 603. Methodist was next at 606, followed by Washington University at 608, Birmingham Southern at 612 and Wittenberg at 616.
Individually, the Tigers were paced by freshman Allie Lawwill (Springboro, Ohio/Middletown) placed 19th with a two-day score of 151, which broke the school record set a year ago by sophomore Nicole Waers (Canton, Ohio/Perry) by one stroke. Her first round score of 75 was the second-best in program history.
Sophomore Rachel Steiner (Hamilton, Ohio/Lakota West) was right behind in 25th place with a two-day total of 152, which matched Waers' previous school record. Her Day 2 score of 75 matched Lawwill for the Tigers' low round of the tournament and No. 2 in program history.
Also shooting a 75 in the second round was freshman Maggie Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore), who placed 49th with a 157. Rounding things out were junior Deanna Mychalishyn (Mason, Ohio/Mason) in 55th with a 159 and sophomore Carolyn Wong (Naperville, Ill./Central) in 77th with a 165.
Finally, Waers competed in the tournament as an individual. She placed 55th in the 124-player field with a score of 159.