Oilers Hold 5 of top 6 Spots | Lead G-MAC Championship by 34
Lexington, Ky. – The University of Findlay women's golf team, ranked seventh in the country, took on a bitterly cold opening day of competition at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championship on Monday, April 18. The event is being hosted for second consecutive year at University Club of Kentucky's Big Blue course in Lexington, Kentucky. The Oilers are seeking their fourth consecutive G-MAC title and fifth consecutive conference title in 2022 and are also hoping to continue a magical spring season that has seen the team win five consecutive tournaments.
Through one day of competition, Findlay holds a commanding lead in the stroke play portion of the event after shooting rounds of 294 (+6) and 304 (+16) in the cold and wind of central Kentucky. Sitting in first with a two-round total of 598 (+22), Findlay is 34 shots ahead of Tiffin University, which is in second with a 632 (+56), and 69 shots ahead of Ashland which is in third with a 667 (+91).
On Saturday, the Oilers, who have five players in the top six on the leaderboard, led the field with 18 birdies as a team. Battling challenging conditions, the field only boasted 15 rounds of 78 or better, eight of which belonged to Findlay players.
Sophomore Gabby Woods, who was the medalist at last year's G-MAC Championship, is in a familiar spot atop the leaderboard after shooting a 72 (E) in her opening round, the best round by anyone in the field on Saturday. She followed that up with a 75 (+3) in her second round to finish the day at 147 (+3) for the day. Woods tied for the top spot in the field in par four scoring at 4.15 and is also tied at the top in par five scoring at 4.88.
Right behind Woods is senior Kristina Kniesly who already has a pair of wins under her belt this spring season. Kniesly started her day off right, making birdies on the sixth and ninth holes to card a 34 (-2) on her opening nine. She finished that round with a 73 (+1) and then shot a three-over 75 in the second round to finish with a 148 (+4) on the day. Kniesly was second in the field with 24 pars on the day.
In a tie for third is freshman Mary Kelly Mulcahy who today was named G-MAC Athlete of the Week after picking up her first career win last week at the Cav Classic. Mulcahy put together rounds of 75 (+3) and 78 (+6) to finish her 36-hole day at 153 (+9). The Lima, Ohio native led the field with 25 pars and is tied with Woods for the best scoring on par fours thus far.
Senior Jill Schmitmeyer battled her way through a tough second round, but still remains in fifth after shooting a 74 (+2) in her opening round. The St. Mary's, Ohio native made a lengthy birdie putt on her final hole of the day to post an 81 (+9), giving her a 36-hole score of 155 (+11) on the day.
Right behind Schmitmeyer was freshman Erin Mulcahy, who has broken into the lineup for the Oilers' first postseason event of the spring. Mulcahy struggled on the back nine of her opening round, posting a 42 (+6) during that stretch and giving her a first-round score of 80 (+8). The Lima Central Catholic grad did not let that round define her day as she fought her way to a second-round score of 76 (+4). Her two-round score of 156 (+12) has her in a tie for sixth in the event.
The Oilers look to close out stroke play tomorrow in the morning and are in solid position to make the medal match play portion of the event. The new format, which debuted in the G-MAC men's tournament last Thursday and Friday. The top two teams in the stroke play portion of the G-MAC tournament will be matched up for medal match play, during which players from each of the two teams go head to head against each other. Each match is worth a point with the best of five claiming the tournament title.
