Women's Golf Competes at the Bulldog Spring Invitational; Olivia Holyoak-Church Claims Individual Title
Lincoln, NE – Iowa Western women's golf finished the Bulldog Spring Invitational on Wednesday, April 8th. The 54-hole event was held at Highlands Golf Club in Lincoln, NE and hosted by Concordia University.
The team opened round 1 on Tuesday morning with real feel temperatures in the mid to upper 20's. The Reivers posted 336 during the chilly start, which found them in 3rd place of the 11-team field. Iowa Western was led by Olivia Holyoak-Church with a score of 79. Followed by Nina Lesbros who carded 80. Jennifer Cho would open her tournament with an 86, and Kellie Peitzmeier would complete the team scoring with an opening round score of 91.
The afternoon saw temperatures rise into the upper 40's. Along with the rising temperatures, the Reivers also hit their stride, carding a round two team score of 318. Holyoak-Church would again set the pace for the team with a 76. Peitzmeier would find her stride, with very consistent play enroute to her new career low round of 79. Lesbros added an 81, and Cho would round out round 2 team scoring with 82. The 318 was the team's lowest round of the spring, and 17 strokes lower than their fall team scoring average.
"Our women continue to make strides early in the spring. They continue to get better and more consistent. I told them, we are building toward playing our best golf at the end of the spring season. If they continue to work on their process, and focus on the scoring zone areas – wedges, chipping, and putting, we will be playing some nice golf in the post season," said Iowa Western Director of Player Development, Ryan Norman, PGA.
Wednesday's final round saw beautiful temperatures, however the wind picked up with sustained wind of 26mph with gusts reaching 45mph. Holyoak-Church would again lead the Reivers with a solid 78 and win the individual title by 1-stroke. Lesbros would close the event with steady play, carding an 84 and earning an individual medal finishing 7th place overall. Cho and Peitzmeier would finish the team scoring for round 3 with a pair of 88's. Skylar Benjamin also competed for the Reivers, carding 93-91-92. Iowa Western would finish the tournament in 3rd place overall.
Next up for the Reivers will be the Stampede at the Creek – hosted by the University of Omaha, at Indian Creek Golf Course in Elkhorn, NE. The dates for the event will be April 13th and 14th.