Though the Bobcats didn’t exactly finish how they wanted to at the Mid-American Conference Championship this weekend, there are signs that things are only going to improve for women’s golf coach Kelly Ovington and Ohio in the near future.
After ending their first two rounds in the top two spots, the Bobcats dropped to fourth place on the final day of MACs — their best finish since Ovington took over the program in July of 2008.
Before this year, the Bobcats had not finished higher than seventh at the MAC Tournament under Ovington.
During the first of three days of competition, Ohio had four players in the individual top ten, but they could not continue that momentum throughout the rest of the tournament. Two players shot their worst score on the final day of the tournament, and three shot progressively worse each round.
Sophomore Hailey Hrynewich finished sixth individually, junior Angela Codian finished tied for ninth and freshman Lily Pendy finished 21st out of 50 golfers. Ovington said the fact that the Bobcats now know they can put together one round worthy of championship level golf, she hopes that can translate into two or three rounds in the future.
Senior Julie Lechner finished tied for 26th in her final collegiate tournament after being one of the four Bobcats in the top ten after day one. Ovington has said multiple times throughout the year Lechner has stepped up as a leader on and off the course.
“Julie’s come a long, long way in four years. I’m so proud of her this year,” Ovington said. “She’s really cranked up her game. She’s really worked hard in the weight room; she’s worked hard on the golf course improving things in her game. … She’s become a leader on this team.”
Lechner became the third Bobcat in four years to be named the MAC’s Sportswoman of the year by the conference. Ovington said Lechner, “embodies what it means to be a student athlete,” and that this was something she saw coming when Lechner was just a freshman. The award is voted on by her peers and is for excellence as an athlete and a student.
Moving forward, Ovington said the Bobcats have reasons to be optimistic because of the incoming freshmen. Five of their top six players, in terms of stroke average, will return and Ovington is bringing in four freshmen in the fall to challenge her veterans.
“We have a lot of talent coming in. Not just talent on the golf course, but these girls want to be Bobcats,” Ovington said of the incoming freshmen. “I think sometimes you find, at our level of school, you get people who settle. These girls have been dreaming of coming here for as long as they can remember. This is what they want to do.”
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