The UW-Whitewater golf team dualed St. Catherine at Villa de Paz Golf Club in Phoenix, Arizona to begin the spring season.

The Warhawks had 360 strokes, while the St. Catherine Wildcats won with 330 on the 18-hole course.

This was the Wildcats first time back on the course since they won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in Oct.

Sophomore Maddie McCue and freshman Kristin Bowe led the ’Hawks with scores of 89, tied for seventh overall.

“St. Catherine’s is a good team,” Bowe said. “This was motivation for a lot of us to practice even harder this spring.”

The Wildcats claimed the top three sports in individual scores as two players tied for first place with a low of 78.

UW-W freshman Kelly Storti placed 11th overall with a score of 90. Freshman Ashley Hofmeister tied for 12th with a 92, and sophomore Kaitlin Bowe tallied a 99 to finish 14th.

Freshman Gracie Holler competed as an individual and led with a team-best score of 88. Holler tied for fifth overall. Sophomore Sabrina Schreck was able to score an 89 and tie for seventh.

With the score of 102, sophomore Breanna Bertschinger placed 15th, and junior Hayley Jefferson finished 16th with a 106.

According to Bowe and her coach,  although golf is seen as an individual sport, the mindset of the spring season is “team first”.

“Lifting your teammates up and encouraging them to be the best they can be is huge,” Bowe said. “This Arizona trip helped a lot of us grow closer and create a stronger bond as a team.”

The Warhawks will continue play April 14-15 at Illinois Wesleyan’s Kathy Niepagen Spring Fling at Ironwood Golf Course in Normal, Illinois.