The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s golf team achieved their second, first-place finish of the season at the 17-team UW-Whitewater Fall Classic on Sept. 23. The Fall Classic was hosted by the Warhawks at Blackhawk Country Club in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Warhawks dominated the field, finishing the tournament with a two-round score of 319-321-640, a whole 45 strokes ahead of the runner-up, Wheaton College (Ill).

The Warhawks got off to a fast start after round one, jumping out to a 15-stroke lead at its’ conclusion.

Sophomore Ashley Hofmeister led the way in round one with a team low 77, with sophomore CheyAnn Knudsen also breaking 80 with a 79 of her own. Hofmeister would answer that 77 with a 74 in round two, earning her a first-place finish (77-74-151) and All-Tournament Team honors. Junior Maddie McCue finished third with 161 strokes (82-79), while Knudsen finished tied for fourth with 165 strokes (79-86), all earning All-Tournament Team honors.

Junior Kaitlin Bowe finished the tournament in a tie for 11th place with a total of 169 (87-82), and sophomore Kelly Storti tied for 14th with a score of 170 (81-89). All five golfers for the Warhawks finished in the top 15.

Head coach Andrea Wieland felt her team managed the course well, which was vital to her team’s success.

“Blackhawk is a really tough course with tight fairways and I thought our girls did a nice job staying out of trouble,”  Wieland said.

The Warhawks weren’t alone at Blackhawk Country Club this weekend. The Whitewater ‘B’ team finished seventh with a two-round score of 716 (356-360). The ‘B’ team was led by junior Sabrina Schreck who finished the weekend with a total of 175 (88-87), good enough to finish in a tie for 21st.

Other ‘B’ team contributors were senior Hayley Jefferson who scored a (85-91) 176, sophomore Kristin Bowe finished tied for 26th with an (89-90) 179, and Breanna Bertschinger headed into the clubhouse in a tie for 46th with a (94-92) 186. Sophomore Bella Barbiere would go on to finish in a tie for 47th with a score of (95-92) 187, just one stroke off Bertschinger.

Wieland believed her team has built some momentum heading into next weekend.

“We just have to keep getting better,” Wieland said. “We may have started the season off better than we had expected, and we expect to build on that heading into next weekend.”

The Warhawks head to Stevens Point for the Mad Dawg Invitational on Sept. 30.