This past weekend on Friday, Sept. 23 and Saturday, Sept. 24 the UW-Whitewater women’s golf team competed in the fall classic in Janesville. They placed first overall with a score of 612, and also scored the third lowest 18-hole score in program history. 

On the first day of the classic the A team pulled out a 314 and shaved off 16 strokes the next day to get a score of 298. The team had to overcome a more difficult field than they played in previous years, but after the first day they made their adjustments according to head coach Andrea Wieland.

“Because of other tournaments going on, our field wasn’t as strong as normal so we went in just wanting to play our own game,” Wieland said. “For golf it’s really you against the golf course. You really try to stay present with your own game and you try not to worry so much about your competitors. So that’s why I was proud of the girls because I feel like they did that really well.” 

Two of the top five players achieved program highs with their scores. Senior Ashton Sinak finished first with 149 overall and had the second lowest round in program history with 72 on Saturday. Sophomore Elizabeth Johnson scored 151 overall. She tied the program record for the lowest round and had a career best with her 71 on Saturday. 

The other three players of the A team also finished well. Senior Lily Sheppard scored 156, senior Madi LaPaz scored 157, and sophomore Kallie Lux scored 163. But Whitewater had their B and C squad place high with second and fourth place. The B team scored 657 overall and the C team scored 683.

“One unique thing about this team is that we have a lot of depth so it’s really nice to have my top five team finish first but then my next five at second place. It’s a boost for everybody to know that they’re all improving,” Wieland said. “You never know when one of those girls might need to step it up and play in the top five. It’s just nice to see some good scores from all of the players this weekend.”

The women’s golf team didn’t just play well in this classic but had also broken a school record at Wesleyan the previous weekend on Saturday, Sept. 17 and Sunday, Sept. 18 with an overall of 601 and first place again.

“This team kind of talked a couple nights before the tournament and they said ‘why can’t we just go out and break the record again? Let’s just keep going,’” Wieland said. “I feel like we exceeded some expectations we had and we were excited about that. I think we are just going to have to keep trying to break those records the rest of the season.”

The Warhawks are scheduled next to play in Reedsburg at the WIAC Championship Oct. 7 through Oct. 9. They hope to continue the results of these past two classics and keep improving.