Oilers Lead After Snowy Round 1 of G-MAC Golf Championship
Liberty Township, Ohio – It's a new year and a new league, but the University of Findlay women's golf team finds itself in a familiar position after the first round of the 2018 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Women's Golf Tournament. The Oilers, last year's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) champion, lead the event after 18 holes of play at Four Bridges Country Club in Liberty Township, Ohio. Findlay battled snow and 20 mph winds on a 34-degree day and posted a score of 318, 13 shots ahead of second place Trevecca Nazarene, winner of every G-MAC Women's Championship in the league's five-year history.
Teams were scheduled to play 27 holes per day on both April 16 and 17, but due to poor conditions, the tournament has been shortened to two 18-hole rounds.
On a tough-scoring day, Findlay led the field with 51 pars and tied for the lead with four birdies while leading in Par 3, Par 4, and Par 5 scoring.
The Oilers' top score came from sophomore Samantha Kellstrom who fired a 77 (+5) and currently leads the event with just 18 holes to play. Kellstrom carded five bogeys on the front-nine but rallied for a 37 on the back, ending her round with a birdie on 18. Despite being +3 on Par 5s, the Ann Arbor, Michigan native is just +2 on Par 4s, which leads the field, and is even-par on Par 3s.
Three shots behind Kellstrom are junior Makenzie Torres and sophomore Meredith Wipper who each shot a 41 on the front nine and a 39 on the back for an 80 (+8) through 18 holes of play. The two are tied for fourth in the championship. Torres, last year's GLIAC Medalist, was even-par on Par 3s and +1 on Par 5s while Wipper is second in the field at even-par on Par 5s.
Junior Samantha Hatter is in a tie for seventh after shooting an 81 (+9) on the first day of competition while freshman Kristina Kniesly is tied for 12th after an 84 (+12).
The final 18 holes will be played tomorrow, April 17. After the event, the conference champion, tournament medalist, and all-conference winners will be given awards.