September 16, 2015 By Evan Carlin

After a two-day stint in Waverly, Iowa, the UW-Whitewater Women’s golf team finished the 17-team Wartburg Invitational in 10th place.  The Warhawks ended the invitation five strokes shy of ninth place with 699 total strokes.  Junior Hannah Taylor finished with a two-day total of 175.
The Warhawks were led by Taylor after the first day of competition as she sat tied for 26th place out of 94 players.  Kayla Asleson and Stephanie Stair were one shot apart after shooting 84 and 85, respectively.  Asleson was tied for 33rd, while Stair was tied for 41st place.
In the second day of play, Stephanie Stair was able to improve her first day’s performance, accumulating a two day total of 170, which was good for a tie in 34th place out of 94 players.  Asleson ended up finishing (84-91) while Taylor went (83-92) to tie for 47th place.
The Warhawks performed well, but look to improve its performance.
“I thought our ball striking was good enough to allow us to post a top 6 finish,” head coach Brett Weber said. “We spent a great deal of time this week working on our short games and putting and unfortunately, we did not execute nearly to the degree which we should have.”
Weather conditions proved challenging for the golfers Sunday as the wind picked up speed and varied directions.  Three of the Warhawks managed to land on nine greens in regulation, but none of which were able to keep a score under 87.  “Short games, putting, course management and decision making were poor,” said Weber.
“We had a rough finish to the invite, but it’s only a learning curve on preparing for next weekend,” Taylor said.
Despite the ’Hawks’ results in the Wartburg Invitational, expectations are high for the Warhawks and Weber with the remaining season.
“I hope we can really appreciate the complexity and simplicity of what goes into scoring, course management, decision making and ultimately our short game execution,” Weber said.  “We have ladies with great golf swings, alongside really strong players from a physical stature point. However, we need to get better in the things mentioned if we want to contend at conference.”
Weber’s minor details to the women’s team’s approach can propel the ’Hawks to greater results.
“I am not concerned with our place finishes right now, as so much I am about the process of getting better and the appreciation of how crucial one shot or hole can be to this team,”  Weber said.
The ’Hawks are next scheduled to compete in the Millikin Fall Classic next Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19-20, in Village of Lakewood, Illinois