The women’s golf team secured a sixth-place finish in the eight-team field that made up the University of Saint Francis (Ill.) Spring Invite.
Playing in just their second team event since adding another golfer (four total) to have qualifying team scores, the Cougars moved from second-to-last to third-to-last.
First-year Taylor Thompson backed up her tie for sixth place in the Embry Riddle Invite in Arizona with a tie for ninth place in the Saint Francis Invite.
While the team finished with a better score on Saturday by 23 strokes, Thompson was the only Cougar who did not improve or remain static in her individual score.
Her 82 on Friday was the fourth best individual score in the field after a 73, a couple of 78s and an 80.
On Saturday, however, she ran into some trouble and finished the day with an 89, which was still good for the second best individual score for Saint Xavier.
Playing at Prairie Bluff Golf Course in Lockport, Ill., Thompson and the Cougars battled uncooperatively frigid weather on Friday and Saturday.
The course, a 6,054-yard par-72, played tough for all of the teams involved.
Bethel College, which went on to win the tournament, was 73 strokes over par through the two-day event.
First-year Courtney Dudgeon was one of the players to lead the Saturday charge for Saint Xavier. Her 86 on Saturday was a 10-stroke improvement on her showing on Friday. She finished in a tie for 25th place.
First-year Katie Reno was the most consistent of the Cougars through Friday and Saturday. She shot a 90 on both days to finish second for the cougars and in a tie for 22nd place overall.
Fellow first-year Ashley Anderson struggled through the tournament, but she still managed to improve mightily on her first round.
Her first-round 133 was tough to get through, but she improved by 20 strokes with a 113 on Saturday.
The women’s golf team’s next event is the Bethel Spring Invite, which will be held at Blackthorn Golf Course in South Bend, Ind., on April 11 and 12.
The next step for the Cougars, hopefully by the end of the season, is to progress to the top half of the teams in the field for a given tournament.
Tim Carroll
Senior Sports Editor
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