The Bucknellian

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Women’s golf ends year in S.C.

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By Andrew Lichtenauer

Senior Writer

The women’s golf team wrapped up its season Wednesday at the Big South Championship in Ninety Six, S.C. The team finished seventh of 10 teams at the end of the 54-hole tournament, while Campbell claimed the Big South title. Leading the Bison was Bridget Wilcox ’14, who finished tied for 13th individually with a solid three-round total of 234. Lauren Bernard ’14 (238), Kasha Scott ’14 (239), Minjoo Lee ’12 (244) and Brittany Rendell ’12 (248) followed Wilcox.

Wilcox had a resilient second round on Tuesday when she bounced back from a tough triple-bogey on the front-nine to finish the rest of her round in only two-over-par.

“I really hit the ball well this week and when I missed a green my short game was very solid,” Wilcox said. “I was also very mentally strong this week; when things weren’t going well I was still able to grind it out and limit the amount of bogeys I had. You need to be mentally tough to compete at the Big South.”

The Big South Championship marked the final competition for seniors Lee and Rendell. The two have both excelled as Bison golfers throughout their careers. 

“I loved making friends with other players from other schools. And I loved my teammates. They’re some of my closest friends and I feel lucky to have gotten to know them and be friends. It was a bittersweet feeling walking off the 18th green today,” Lee said.

Over the course of their spring season, the Bison competed in four different tournaments with their best finish coming at the Bison Challenge at Paiute Golf Resort in Las Vegas in March. Competing in a series of very competitive tournaments, the Bison managed to produce three top-10 finishes and saw consistent improvement from their starting five.

Looking ahead to next season, the Bison will certainly miss the departing seniors, but will return their trio of talented sophomores in Scott, Wilcox, and Bernard. With another year of experience, this group will look to build on their impressive seasons and carry the team to the next level next fall.

Women’s golf takes sixth

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By Andrew Lichtenauer

Senior Writer

The women’s golf team finished sixth and ninth of 11 teams at the UNC-Wilmington Seahawk Classic on March 24 and 25, respectively in Wallace, N.C. The Bison posted team scores of 306, 311 and 312 in the 54-hole event, putting them 63 strokes behind tournament champion East Carolina. Old Dominion came in second (872) followed by first-round leader Longwood (873).

Leading the Orange and Blue was Bridget Wilcox ’14, who started off the tournament with an exceptional first round of one-under-par (71). The sophomore followed her impressive first round with solid rounds of 76 and 78 to finish off the 54-hole event in a tie for 19th place individually (225).

“My driving and irons have really improved and I was feeling confident going into the round,” Willcox said. “I have been working really hard and it definitely paid off.”

Lauren Bernard ’14 had the low round of the day on Sunday for Bison, posting a third-round 75. Minjoo Lee ’12 finished with a pair of 79s after shooting 77 on March 24.

James Madison’s Nicole Sakamoto was the individual medalist with a four-under 212. Sakamoto beat out second-place finisher Samantha Morrell of Old Dominion by just one shot.

The Bison will hit the links again when they compete in the Big South Championship April 9-11 at The Patriot Club in Ninety-Six, S.C.

Women’s golf takes third

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By Colin Fields

Writer

The women’s golf team finished third at the Big South Championship in South Carolina on Wednesday in its final competition of the spring season. Lauren Bernard ’14 led the team with a final round 72 to tie for second place individually. The team’s third-place finish and Bernard’s second-place finish are record performances for the Orange and Blue at the Big South.

Bernard carded a 226 for the tournament which ranks second in Bison history. The first-year opened up the tournament with a three-over-par 75 and a seven-over-par 79 before shooting a sizzling even-par 72 on the final day to finish in a tie for second. Bernard performed consistently, tallying three birdies and three bogeys on Wednesday.

Jessica Alexander of Coastal Carolina, who also finished the tournament with a 72, was the only player in the field to shoot lower than Bernard for the week. Bernard finished with no worse than a bogey on both Monday and Wednesday.

“I was nervous as a freshman going into the tournament because I wanted to play my best golf,” Bernard said. “I was very pleased with my second-place finish because I was at my best and all of my hard work paid off.”

Bernard’s 226 is second all-time behind her teammate Minjoo Lee ’12 who shot a 224 in last year’s competition. Lee finished with a 247 for the week in this year’s competition.

The two other Bison first-years both had rounds under 80 to help put the Bison in contention. Kasha Scott ’14 shot a 77 on Wednesday and Bridget Wilcox ’14 birdied the final hole Tuesday to card a 79. Captain Kate Jurenovich ’11 also finished the week on a high note with a 77 of her own Wednesday.

“It was a great achievement to play this well and we worked really hard this season to get to where we are. It felt great to finish strong,” Jurenovich said.

As a team, the Bison finished behind Coastal Carolina and Gardner-Webb. Coastal Carolina came into the tournament ranked 40th in the nation. The Bison had a team score of 949 and finished ahead of six other schools.

The third place finish Wednesday was their sixth top-four finish of the year, the most in Bison history.

Women’s golf finishes 26th in S.C.

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By Thomas Walter

Contributing Writer

The women’s golf team traveled to Kiawah Island, S.C. this past weekend to compete in the three-day Edwin Watts/Kiawah Island Intercollegiate for its first tournament of the spring season. The Bison shot a three-day total of 959 to finish 26th out of 33 teams. Katie Jurenovich ’11 led the Orange and the Blue as she tied for 46th with a three-day individual total of 231.

After finding success this past fall season, the Bison looked to continue their momentum into the spring season. They began their season with a challenge in this tournament that included some of the best teams in women’s golf such as the University of Miami and the University of Nebraska.

“We have a young team so it was very important for us to just remain confident and remind ourselves to just do the best we can because we haven’t been able to practice on grass like most of the other teams have.” Jurenovich said.  “I think we still have a lot of mental work to do for the rest of the season in just believing in ourselves and that we can make every shot.”

Out of the five players that traveled to Kiawah, three were first-years. Lauren Bernard ’14, Kasha Scott ’14 and Bridget Wilcox ’14 joined Jurenovich and Minjoo Lee ’12. Wilcox led the first-years, finishing with a three-day total of 242.

One of the most promising things from the trip down south was that after opening with a 331 on Sunday, the Bison rebounded Monday and Tuesday with scores of 313 and 315, respectively.

Lee said that she feels as though there might have been some rust on the first day of competition.

“We all have been practicing really hard,” Lee said. “The scores at Kiawah may not have necessarily reflected the hard work but the conditions were extremely hard.”

The women will look to continue their improvement when they play again on March 14-15 at the Jackrabbit Invitational in Primm, Nev.

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