Normal, Ill. – The Gustavus women’s golf team is in fourth in a field of 19 teams after day one of the Illinois Wesleyan Spring Fling Invitational at Ironwood Golf Course. Saturday’s first round saw the Gusties shoot a 331 (+43), 12 strokes behind the leader, Washington University, St. Louis, who totaled a 319 (+31). Gustavus trails third place DePauw University by six strokes and second place Illinois Wesleyan by nine heading into Sunday’s final round.
“I was pleased with our will to battle all day today,” commented Head Coach Scott Moe. “Conditions were very difficult with the wind blowing up to 35 miles per hour, making dry greens very fast and difficult to hold shots. We had a few miscues in our short game, but we battled hard. This is a strong field and we put ourselves in a good position heading in to tomorrow.”
With the difficult conditions, scores were higher than expected, but junior Sam Falk (Glenwood, Minn.) did not waiver, pacing the Gustie women with a seven-over-par 79 on Saturday. She sits tied for fourth in a field of 95 golfers and will begin Sunday’s second round five shots back from the leader Katie Klosterman of the host institution Illinois Wesleyan.
“Sam had another strong round for us, and Emilie put together a great round, especially considering it was her first round as a part of our top five,” mentioned Moe. “She played solid and made few mistakes, which was really encouraging.”
Sophomore Emilie Anderson (Osceola, Wis.) followed Falk with a nine-over-par 81 to tie for 12th on Saturday. Anderson, along with first-year Mae Meierhenry (Sioux Falls, S.D.) who is tied for 17th with a 12-over-par 84, are the only other two Gusties to rank in the top 20 following the first round.
“As a team, our goal tomorrow is to minimize our mistakes and avoid big holes, as each of us had some today,” finished Moe. “We need to put together a complete round. If we can do that, we will be in great shape to make a move. I am looking forward to see how we respond.”
Gustavus will tee off in tomorrow’s final round at 9:00 a.m., and will be paired with members of fifth-place UW-Stout and sixth place North Central College.