April 22, 2009

Results

The UNOH Lady Racers competed in their first ever Conference Championships as they hosted the American Mideast Conference Championship on Monday April 20th, and Tuesday April 21st at Colonial Hills Golf Club. The Racers struggled through tough conditions on Monday, but came back on Tuesday and finished in 4th place out of 7 teams at the event.

On Day 1 for the Lady Racers, Junior Erin Winings and Freshman Melissa Finch each fired 96's to get off to a good start as they both had a 46 on the front with 50's on the back. Freshman Christy Brinkman was right behind with a 97 as she turned in the front side with a 47 and the back with a 50. Junior Vanessa Herbert was the final score for the Racers with a 112 on the day as she shot a 52 on the front and 60 on the back. Sophomore Hollie Johnston was right behind with a 114, with a 56 on the front and a 58 on the back.

The Lady Racers, who shot a team total of 401, were 22 strokes behind Malone University after Day 1. Malone was the leader at 379. Walsh University was sitting in 2nd with a 384 and Ohio Dominican was in 3rd place with a 390. UNOH was in 4th with a 401. Ursuline College was in 5th with a team total of 458. Notre Dame College sat in 6th with a 524.

The individual leader was a three way tie between Malone University's Elena Duncan and a pair of Walsh teammates in Kim Smith and Katy Collins, who all turned in 92's for a round of 18 in harsh weather conditions.

On Day 2 of the event, the pressure was high as the Racers needed to post great numbers to compete for the league title, but also had three competitors from UNOH vying with 11 other women for the medalist as 14 golfers were within 6 strokes of each other. The winning team and medalist would advance to the National Tournament in Rapid City, SD.

Turning in their scorecard first was Sophomore Hollie Johnston as she turned in a 101 to bring her two day total of 215. Next in was Junior Vanessa Herbert as she scored a 103 to bring her two day total of 215 as well. Freshman Christy Brinkman, who was vying for a medalist and All-Conference position, struggled on Day 2 and shot a 103 to shoot a two day total of 200. At this point, the chance at winning the league title was diminished and all was left was the Lady Racers top two golfers vying for the Medalist and league honors.

Freshman Melissa Finch, who shot a 96 on Day 1, came in with a 97 for a two day total of 193, which was good enough to finish on the 2nd team of the AMC All-Conference team. Junior Erin Winings was the last Lady Racer to reach the clubhouse and her first day 96, put her 4 behind the leader for medalist. Winings improved on Day 2 with a 92, but it wasn't enough to earn medalist honors, and she finished with a 188 and 1st team AMC All-Conference. Winings finished 4th overall for the event.

Walsh's Kim Smith earned medalist honors with a two day total of 181. Walsh grabbed the rest of the hardware as they finished 1st with a team total of 762. Ohio Dominican was 13 strokes behind them with a 775. Day 1 leaders Malone struggled mightily on Day 2 as they fell to 3rd with a total of 782. UNOH finished 4th at 794. Ursuline finished 5th at 872. Notre Dame and Wilberforce did not finish as players withdrew from the competition forcing their teams to be disqualified. Walsh's Head Coach Kevin Longanecker earned the AMC Coach of the Year and will take his team to Rapid City, SD to compete in the NAIA Women's Golf National Championship.

The Lady Racers finish up their 2008-09 campaign as they will compete in the Ohio Cup that will take place on Saturday April 25th, at The Sanctuary Golf Course in North Canton, OH.