Photo by: Henoc Kivuye
After several weeks of practice, tournament postponements and cancellations, the men and women’s golf teams both placed in their respective tournaments.
The Lady Eagles started off their spring season with the program’s first tournament victory at the Kickingbird Classic on March 10 and 11 in Edmond, Okla.; unpredictable winter weather in previous weeks forced the team to cancel their participation in the Diffee Ford-Lincoln Invitational and the Tyler Junior College Invitational.
“As a team we are hoping to win our first tournament this semester,” sophomore Audrey Meisch said before the tournament. “We have finished in second place at 12 different tournaments, so we are still looking to capture our first win.”
While the Lady Eagles were winless going into the tournament, they focused on improving personal performance.
“Golf is a game of mental and physical skill,” freshman Mindy Stafford said. “You have to have confidence in yourself that you are a good player. Our goal is to win every tournament we play, and for each individual to do their best.”
The Oklahoma Christian University women’s golf team is looking to draw attention this spring.
Their golf program is only three years old, but is already working on improving its record.
Last fall the Lady Eagles finished in either second or third place in all five of their tournaments, and are hopeful that this spring season brings the recognition to the program that it has been working towards.
The Lady Eagles started off the tournament by tying for fourth after the first round.
Oklahoma Christian trailed behind No. 16-ranked Arkansas Tech University by 10 shots, only six shots behind No. 3-ranked Oklahoma City University and the host University of Central Oklahoma.
The Lady Eagles were also tied with No. 23-ranked Northeastern State University.
After the first round the Lady Eagles ranked higher than five of the other schools in Division II membership process: Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Drury University, Lindenwood University, the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Northwest Missouri State University.
Oklahoma Christian has yet to gain any votes in the Division II membership process, but are expecting that this spring season will change that.
The first round resulted in freshman Allyson Sell tying for fifth place, junior Anna Arrese Cortadellas in 12th place and freshman India Matthews in 17th place.
Three of the Lady Eagles competed as individuals. Sophomore Alyssa Schnieder tied for 64th place with a score of 88, freshman Emery Rakestraw tied for 72nd place with a score of 92, and Mindy Stafford tied for 74th with a score of 94.
“My goal for the season is to shoot low 80s,” Stafford said. “I feel that I am right on track with this goal after the first round. There’s always room for improvement in this sport and if I don’t shoot in the low 80s this tournament then there is always next tournament. My goal is to improve and that’s what I am going to be working on constantly this spring season.”
In the second round the Lady Eagles were able to snag the program’s first win.
The team came back from a 10-shot defecit to come to an overall score of 295 on the par-70 course for a two-round score of 611 to beat No. 16-ranked Arkansas Tech.
Cortadellas tied for second place with a two-round score of 148.
This added to her record of placing in the top 10 in all of the 22 events she has competed in.
Cortadellas was not the only Lady Eagle to place.
Meisch tied for fifth by shooting the only under-par round by any of the 96 women, to give her a total score of 152.
“My goal this season is to work on chipping and approach shots,” Meisch said. “Hopefully this will continue to lead to low scores.”
Mathews also placed in the top 10 by tying for ninth with a score of 154.
Sell finished 29th with a score of 163.
The Lady Eagles finally earned that long-awaited first win for their golf program.
“I am so proud of the team,” Stafford said. “They have worked so hard and it’s nice to see that finally paying off, despite the severe weather constantly getting in the way of practice and tournaments. We have a great team and I hope this long-anticipated win finally brings the recognition to this program that it deserves.”
The victory not only gave the Lady Eagles a boost, but also jolted their fans.
“Its nice to see the Lady Eagles finally get that long sought-after win,” freshman Courtnie Clemmons said. “I’m excited to see what they do with the rest of their season and the program.”
Oklahoma Christian competed in the Midwestern State Invitational in Wichita Falls, Texas on March 17 and 18.
The Lady Eagles posted a final score of 313 and they finished fourth out of the 17 teams.
Cortadellas and Matthews both individually placed in the top 10.
The Oklahoma Christian men’s golf team was looking to improve after finishing fifth in the spring season opener, however, due to the inclement weather, their team was also forced to withdraw from the St. Edward’s Invitational held at the Grey Rock Golf Club in Austin, Texas.
The men finished sixth place at the Midwestern State Invitational in Wichita Falls out of 16 teams.
Oklahoma Christian finished in third out of the seven competing Heartland Conference schools.
Senior Alasdair Dalgliesh finished 10 shots behind medalist Derek Oland of Midwestern State, as the Eagles’ top individual player.
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