The women’s golf team recorded their first tournament win since 2004.
After little rest from their previous competition, the women’s golf team traveled to Rochester, Michigan to compete in the Golden Grizzly Invitational this weekend.
The lack of rest and preparation time had little effect on Ohio, though.
For the first time since 2004, the Bobcats finished a tournament as champions, after taking first place overall with a two-round total of 618 for 42 strokes over par. Ohio finished six strokes ahead of the host, Oakland, and eight strokes in front of Mid-American Conference foe Bowling Green.
“We had a great tournament, we had unexpected people step up,” coach Kelly Ovington said.
The Bobcats had three members finish individually in the top 10, and five finished in the top-20 out of 45 golfers. The best finish came from junior Angela Codian, who finished second with a two-round total of 150 for six strokes over par. Although she finished one stroke shy of first place, Codian’s final round of 70 tied her best single-round mark this season.
Freshman Lily Pendy finished in a tie for fourth place after shooting a 154 Saturday and Sunday for 10 strokes over par. Pendy has now placed among the top five and top 20 of competition during her four competitions as a Bobcat.
Senior Julie Lechner carded a 156 for 12 strokes over par and finished the weekend in a tie for seventh. It was her second top-10 finish as a Bobcat. Meanwhile, sophomores Hailey Hrynewich and Jessica Mcrae tied each other for 17th, after they both shot two-round totals of 161, which was 17 strokes over par.
Ovington said she was excited to see everyone from her team find their stroke this weekend, even after little time off the course, having played last Monday and Tuesday in Indiana at the Cardinal Classic.
“We came back (to Athens) Tuesday night,” Ovington said. “They are hard workers and do everything they need to do.”
The tournament was held at the Katke-Cousins Golf Course, which Ovington described as challenging, but because the Bobcats practice on the hilly course at the Athens Country Club, they were prepared.
“The course was challenging, you had to be very strategic and you had to be accurate off the tee, but having played at Athens Country Club helps us make adjustments for elevations,” Ovington said.
The Bobcats will get some much needed rest in Athens where they will have a week until they return to competition. They won’t play again until Oct. 6 at Cincinnati.
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