The Wayne State College Wildcat women’s golf team competed on home soil at the Wildcat Classic at the Wayne Country Club in Wayne earlier this week, placing second as a team at the event.
The two-day event that featured 14 teams and 88 players was shortened to one day, Monday, April 15, due to the expected weather patterns on Tuesday, April 16.
36 holes were played on Monday amidst windy conditions, much better than the projected rain and storms on Tuesday. After the first round of golf, WSC sat tied for fourth after shooting a 320. The second leg of 18 holes saw a 12-stroke improvement to shoot a 308. Totaling the two rounds gave WSC a team score of 628, their best score after two rounds all season, and placed them second at the tournament. The 628 meant they shot +52 as a team. Augustana captured the team title after rounds of 304 and 303 to shoot +31 for the tournament.
Augustana had great success individually as well, as four of the too five individual finishers hailed from the Vikings team, including the overall winner in Molly Stevens, who rallied late to top Iowa Western Community College’s Baylie Pyke. Senior Jazmine Taylor was the top finisher for the Wildcats. Taylor had an uncharacteristic 81 in her first round, but her second round finished at 75 to finish +12, tying her for ninth. Saffire Sayre was not far behind, shooting rounds of 78 and 79 to finish +13, as she finished in 11th place. Abbey Kurmel had rounds of 80 and 78 to finish at +14, tying her for 12th. Abbigail Brodersen finished tied for 18th with rounds of 84 and 76, leading to a +16 on the scorecard. Erica Lee was the last team participant for WSC, finishing with a +19 after shooting rounds of 81 and 82.
Other Wildcat finishers included Tricia Hemann, who shot 84 and 80 respectively across the two rounds to shoot +20. Hailey Kenkel shot rounds of 85 and 90 to shoot +31, Kylie Powers finished at +35 after rounds of 90 and 89, and Olivia Ottman finished at +44 after shooting both rounds at 94.
WSC will finish their season the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Championships in Smithville, Missouri at the Paradise Point Golf Club. The tournament runs from Friday, April 26 to Sunday, April 28 and will close the season for the Wildcats.
