The Baldwin-Wallace College Women's Golf Team to Compete at Capital
BEREA, OHIO - The Baldwin-Wallace College women's golf team will compete this weekend at the Capital University Purple & White Tournament at the Foxfire Country Club in Lockborne, Ohio. It is the first northern tournament for B-W since it played on March 11-12 at the annual Northern Illinois University Snowbird Invitational Tournament at the Pebble Creek Golf Course in Tampa, Florida. For results from the Capital Purple & White Tournament, please click here.
In collegiate golf, the season is split between the fall and winter seasons. Last fall, B-W participated in seven tournaments and 10 rounds of 18 holes. This spring, the Yellow Jackets will play in five tournaments and 10 rounds, including the 2004 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament on April 29-30 at the Little Turtle Golf Course near Columbus.
Historically, the B-W program is one of the best in both the OAC and NCAA Division III women's golf. B-W won the inaugural OAC title in 2000 and won it again in 2001. Both years, the Yellow Jackets advanced to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament, finishing seventh and 10th, respectively. In 2002, B-W was second at the OAC tourney and finished third a year ago. This year, second-year Head Coach Jim Meyer has the firepower to have his team back on top at the OAC tourney, but it won't be an easy task.
"Every team in the OAC that has women's golf continues to improve," said Meyer, who also assists Cheri Harrer on the women's basketball coaching staff. "We feel that we have some very talented upperclass golfers who are ready to take that next step. In addition, we added a solid recruiting class -- one of the best in Division III. It will be a very good and very competitive tournament at Capital, and that's the first step up north toward the OAC Tournament. We are excited and looking forward to the challenge."
At the NIU Invitational in Tampa, Florida, the Yellow Jackets, playing against a mostly NCAA Division I field, fired rounds of 400 on the first day and 381 on the second day at the par-72, 5,940-yard Pebble Creek layout. B-W was one of 13 schools to improve its team score on the second day. For many of the Div. I participants, the NIU event was their third of the spring compared to the first for B-W.
Sophomore All-Ohio Athletic Conference players Lauren Buckner (Westlake) and Emily Scheetz (Canton/ Massillon Jackson) led the Yellow Jackets. Buckner fired rounds of 93 and 96 for a two-day, 36-hole total of 189 strokes, including the team-high-tying 93. Scheetz had rounds of 98 and 100 to place second at 198 for 36 holes.
In addition, freshman Kelly Gallaway (Ashland Senior) was third with rounds of 106 and a team-high-tying 93 on the second day for a 199 total. Freshman Sarah Hacker (New Albany, Ind./ Our Lady of Providence) carded rounds of 97 and 103 to place fourth with 200 total strokes, freshman Kylee Ehinger (Roanoke, Ind./ Bishop Luers) was fifth with rounds of 108 and 95 for a 203 total and senior Lindsay Light (Ft. Wayne, Ind./ Concordia Lutheran) had consecutive rounds of 103 to place sixth at 206. B-W is without its top player, freshman Tara Wetherely (Stockton, Calif./ Franklin).
In the Fall of 2003, B-W competed in seven fall tournaments and had three first place finishes as well as one second, one third and one fourth place showing. B-W won fall invitational titles at the five-team Wilmington Invitational, the nine-team B-W Yellow Jacket Invitational and the 10-team Otterbein Invitational. Wetherelt led the team at 85.10 in seven tournaments and 10 rounds of 18 holes. She was followed in the Top Five by Hacker at 89.0, Ehinger at 92.4, Scheetz at 93.63 and Gallaway at 93.88. In addition, GolfStat.com, the most comprehensive InterNet Web Site for colegiate golf, rated this year's B-W freshman group: Wetherelt, Hacker, Ehinger and Gallaway as the second-best in Division III by using statistical analysis from the 2003 fall season.
After participating at Capital, the Yellow Jackets are idle until April 17-18 when they travel to Alliance to participate in the Mount Union College Tournament at the Pleasantview G.C.
FOR MORE B-W SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact B-W Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327, by FAX Machine at 440-826-2329 or via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu.