Caramel, Ind. On Sept. 12 the Saint Leo Women’s Golf started their 2016-2017 season by taking part in the University of Indianapolis Invitational. The Lions finished fifth overall, and the team was led by a senior, Marie Coors who took second place individually.
The Lions started their campaign at the 6215-yard Prairie View course in a 36-hole tournament. Beginning the new season, the team seeks for a second consecutive qualification for the national championships, and the journey started quite well for the Lions as they finished in the top 5 and managed to defeat 12 other teams.
After the first day of the competition, the team was ranked number two. Three of the players, Marie Coors, and juniors, Vilde Eriksen, and Margine Arguello all finished the day in the top 20. Coors led the Lions by placing herself on the fourth place individually after scoring an even-par 72. Eriksen finished the day on the 11th place while Arguello was ranked as number 16. The overall score of the team after day one was 298 (+10).
Even though the team was just eight strokes behind the leader of the tournament during the first day of the competition, the Lions did not manage to hold the position until the end of the tournament. While Coors improved and advanced to the second position as an individual, the team fell to the fifth spot.
Eriksen and Arguello were still the Lions second and third finisher, but they were no longer in the top 20. Along with the remaining two players, senior Sabrina Rumbaugh, and junior Amanda Jakobsson, whose points contributed to the teams overall score, the Lions finished the tournament fifth with the overall score of 603(+27).
The winner of the meet was Dallas Baptist University, while the host of the event, University of Indianapolis, finished as number two. Tarleton State University, and The University of Findlay were both tied for third place.
Saint Leo Women’s Golf comes back to action on Sept. 24-25 to play their second tournament of the season in Bluffton, S.C., at the Old South Golf Links in a tournament hosted by The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The Lions have previously taken part in this event, and they were winners in 2014 as well as 2015.
The Lions have scheduled only four tournaments this fall, as the main part of their season starts in spring. To follow the team’s journey to the national championships, stay tuned to the Lions’ Pride newspaper as the season progresses.
