Sept. 10, 2014

By Daniel S

The Warhawks women’s golf team finished third at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational over the weekend.  The ‘Hawks carded a 353 on Saturday and a 358 on Sunday resulting in a two-round total of 711.  The team finished behind Viterbo University, who won the tournament with 686, and UW-Oshkosh who scored a 691 score as a team.

“We were kind of disappointed,” junior Sammie Leibham said.  “It was a hard and demanding course.  It was very demanding off the tee, and that is what got us into a lot of trouble.”

Freshman Stephanie Stair led the Warhawks with a 174 (86-88) and tied for seventh out of 45 players.  Leibham tied for ninth with a 175 (87-88).

Senior Claudia Rhein finished with a tie for 14th with a 180 score (92-88).  Senior Sarah Bregant finished 16th with a 182 score (88-94), while sophomore Kayla Asleson rounded out the scoring for the ‘Hawks with a 193 score (97-96).

“I’m encouraged by our depth on our team all the way down to our eighth or ninth player,” head coach Brett Weber said.  “It gives us more of a challenge for those spots.”

The Warhawks “B” team finished with a 772 score and were led by senior Vivian Shoemaker who finished for a tie for 14th with a 180 (94-86).  Senior Kate Winkler finished 20th with a 189 (99-90).  Sophomore Hannah Taylor tied for 26th with a 200 score (102-98).  Sophomore Katie Kelly finished 31st with a 205 (105-100) and freshman Hayley Jefferson finished at 36th with a 216 (118-98) to round out the scores for the “B” team.

“We would like to shoot in the 330s or high 320s every week,” Leibham said.  “I think that is reasonable for the potential we have on the team.”

The Warhawks women’s golf team coming into the season has a lot of senior leadership.  The ‘Hawks have four seniors on the roster with Bregant, Rhein, Winkler and Shoemaker.  The team also will be led by juniors Leibham, Taylor Genter and sophomores Taylor, Asleson and Kelly.

“We have a lot of depth in our upperclassmen,” Weber said.  “They are in are top five, so there is some experience there.”

The ‘Hawks also bring in five freshman players including Callie Edwards, Jess Gruber, Jefferson, Katie Melanouris and transfer Stair.  Stair, is a transfer from an NAIA school in Ashford University.

“We have five new people in the program,” Weber said.  “They haven’t topped the top five or top 10, but I certainly look for them to be influential for our program.”

The Warhawks will travel next to the Illinois Wesleyan Fall Fling at the Crestwicke Country Club.  Play begins at 9 a.m. Sept. 13 in Bloomington, Ill.