FORT WAYNE, Indiana - The Marian College women's golf team endured brutal weather conditions to pull out a third-place finish at the USF Spring Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

 

A freezing mix greeted golfers on Saturday as five teams withdrew during second round play leaving just eight teams.

 

Sophomore Angela Gauck (Greensburg, Indiana/Greensburg) brought home the medalist honors for the Knights as she shot a two-day total of 147 (73-74) and had the tournament's low round.

 

Sophomore Kristen Welker (Kokomo, Indiana/Western), after a 97 on Friday, made four birdies as she earned a tie for 15th-place with a 180 (97-83). Freshman Lauren Nickoson (Cleves, Ohio/Taylor) earned a 20th-place finish with a 183 (94-89).

 

Sophomore Karli Shepherd (Carmel, Indiana/Carmel) finished in 22nd place with a 185 (95-90) while freshman Cassie Freestone (Brownsburg, Indiana/Brownsburg) earned a 32nd-place finish with a 196 (105-91).

 

“Words cannot express the admiration and the pride I have for this group of young ladies,” said coach Brett Cope. “The easy thing to do would be to walk off the course or just play to get the round over. They saw other coaches pulling their teams off the courses. But not only did they play the round, they knocked 23 strokes off of Friday’s round.”

 

The Knights shot a second round of 336 for the low round of the day and shaved 23 strokes of their first round total.

 

"Friday was very windy," said Cope. "After shooting a 359, we knew we did not play very well. We were in fifth place, one stroke back of 24th-ranked Lindenwood and host school St. Francis.

 

"We found out during the round we were ranked No. 25 this week, so we were very disappointed with our play. With this turn around, I hope it helps us move up in the rankings. This team is definitely a top 20 team in the NAIA."

 

"Another reason I was very pleased about the weekend was the play of the so-called B team," said Cope. "Although it will not show up in any results, they shot a 796 and finished in seventh place."

 

"After day one, they were in eighth place with a score of 402 and were ahead of six teams. That is fantastic. The whole team showed a lot of heart and this kind of mental toughness will make a difference when they play in the NAIA National Championships."

 

The Knights get back on the course this weekend when they head to the Big Time Challenge at Blackthorn Golf Course in South Bend, Indiana. The tournament is Friday and Saturday.