Lauren Boone
Contributing Writer
The women’s golf team traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich. last weekend to compete in the University of Michigan’s Wolverine Invitational, where it struggled in unfavorable weather conditions. In addition, the 54-hole competition was held on one of the toughest courses on which the Bison will compete this year. The lineup consisted of Lauren Bernard ’14, Kasha Scott ’14, Bridget Wilcox ’14, Lexi Klein ’15 and Jen Lee ’16.
The inclement weather caused the Bison to struggle early on. The Orange and Blue shot 340 in the first round and 328 in the second round. Their team score of 668 left the Bison in 12th place at the end of Saturday’s rounds.
Individually, Wilcox led the Orange and Blue with rounds of 79 and 81. She finished Saturday in 21st place. Scott shot a first round of 88 but was able to lower her score to 80 in the second round. Bernard performed better in her second round as well, improving from 86 to 81. Klein bettered her first round of 87 to a score of 86 in the second round, and Lee improved from 94 to 91.
Michigan finished Saturday in first with a 616 (308-308) over Florida International by one stroke.
In the individual rankings, FIU’s Meghan MacLaren finished in first on Saturday with a total score of 148, followed by Lauren Grogan of Michigan with a total of 149.
After Sunday’s round, the Bison scored a 336 for a final tournament score of 1004, and a 14th place finish. Scott led the Bison on Sunday, after shooting an 80. Wilcox posted an 83, leading to a Bison best 33rd place finish. Bernard shot an 86, followed by Klein with an 87. Lee closed the tournament with a score of 93.
At the end of competition, Michigan and Florida International tied for first place with total scores of 930.
“The Wolverine Invitational was definitely a test of the team’s mental game and shot accuracy. It was freezing, it rained heavily and the course is probably the hardest we will encounter all year–at one point it even hailed!” Wilcox said. “Even with that said, we did not perform as well as we expected. This tournament was definitely a wake-up call and we will continue to work hard throughout the season to get to where we need to be for the Patriot League Championship in April.”
This weekend, the Bison will play at the Nittany Lion Invitational in State College.