Champions Once Again
Liberty Township, Ohio – The University of Findlay women's golf team made it back-to-back conference titles on Tuesday, April 17 with a dominating victory in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Women's Golf Championship. The Oilers, which turned in five of the top seven finishers in the event, carded a conference championship record 298 on the final day to finish the event with a conference record 36-hole, 616. Findlay, which won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) by 20 strokes last season, won the 36-hole tournament by 41 shots over the five-time defending champion, Trevecca Nazarene.
Findlay was led by the play of junior Makenzie Torres who, after an opening round 80, shot a conference championship record, 71 (-1), tied for the fourth-best score of her career. Her two-day total of 151 (+7) was enough to give her a six shot win in the tournament, earning medalist honors for the second consecutive season (Torres won the GLIAC championship last season). The Grove City, Ohio native opened her round on Tuesday with a 37 through the first nine holes but used three birdies on the back nine, including a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th and final hole, to card a back-nine score of 34.
Finishing in a tie for second place were junior Samantha Hatter and sophomore Meredith Wipper, who was the GLIAC Freshman of the Year last season. Both players finished the tournament with a 157 (+13). Hattter birdied the first hole and capped her round with four straight pars to shoot a 76 (+4) while Wipper strung together nine holes at par or better en route to a 77 (+5).
Freshman Kristina Kniesly moved up eight spots from the opening round and ends the tournament in a tie for fourth after shooting a 74 ( +2). Kniesly, who finishes the event with a 158 (+14) birded holes 10, 11, and 12 to shoot a 34 on the back nine.
Right behind Kniesly was sophomore Samantha Kellstrom who, after leading through the first 18 holes, finished the tournament in seventh after an 82 (+10) on the second day.
Findlay is back on the course on April 28-29 at the Walsh Invitational.
