GOLF

The HU golf program spent their weekend at Purgatory Golf Club for the Purgatory Intercollegiate hosted by Taylor University where the women tied for sixth while the men finished tenth.

The Forester women started off strong by firing a 331 on opening day of the two-day event for the fourth spot out of nine teams before posting a 359 on Saturday to finish with their sixth-place score of 690.

Alexandria Maris led Sholund’s crew with a 165 (81-84) for 11th out of 51 golfers. Danielle Tinsley was two strokes back at 167 (82-85) for 13th place. Abby Sheehan posted a 174 (81-93) to finish 27th. Lexy Turpchinoff came in 40th with a 184 (87-97) while Katie Springer finished 46th with a 191 (90-101).

“I’m excited about our performance on day one,” said Coach Rick Sholund. “We put solid scores up in each position. This type of play will help us build confidence. Day two was not quite what we hoped for in the cold windy conditions.

It was an opportunity to gain ground but we got off to a poor start. Katie built some confidence with her last three holes being even par. Lexy and Abby did a good job of responding with better back nines, while  Alex and Danielle both managed the course and adversity well all day.

Sholund is optimistic about the trajectory his squad is on. “This team is coachable and we are seeing gains with each player. We are  proud of the work they are putting in. They will start to believe.”

Taylor won their own tournament with a 628 followed by Wayland Baptist (646), Mount Vernon (663), Olivet Nazarene (666), IU Kokomo (687), HU (690), Ohio Valley (690), Aquinas (698) and Cornerstone (760).

On the men’s side, Mitchell Wilson carded an 81 both days to finish with a 164 good for 39th out of 56 golfers to lead the Foresters. David Beck (80-86–166) and Carter Roseboom (84-83–167) finished within a stroke of each other to claim 44th and 47th respectively.  Hunter Jones turned in a 174 (86-88) for 54th place while Colby Martin posted a 177 (86-91).

“This was just not a great tournament for us at Purgatory,” said Sholund. “We did not handle the tough conditions very well. The team does give their all out there we just started poorly and could not turn it around.  They are working on the right things and I know they will come to practice this week ready to get after it.

“Mitch had his second consecutive event with an eagle, following up his ace on Tuesday in Kentucky with a hole out from 20 yards on the par 5 18th at Purgatory.”

Indiana Wesleyan claimed the men’s title with a 600 followed by Mount Mercy (603), Taylor (606), Roosevelt (612), Olivet Nazarene (633), Aquinas (635), IU East (637), Ohio Christian (651), Ohio Valley (659) and HU (671).

Next up for both teams is the Ackerman-Allen Shootout on April 19.