Guthrie Wins Playoff for Medalist
PORTLAND, Ore. - The third time was the charm for the Whitworth University women. After giving up first-round leads in the first two Northwest Conference tournaments of the year, the Pirates were strong on Sunday and held off sixth-ranked George Fox to claim the team title at the 2010 NWC Championship at Heron Lakes Golf Course. Click here for Sunday's final results. Whitworth not only moved into a tie atop the final NWC standings with the Bruins, but the Pirates now have the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament and the Whitworth women will be making their first-ever appearance. The team title was already decided when Emily Guthrie and Sarah Bicker of Puget Sound went out for a playoff to determine the medalist, and with that the NWC Player of the Year award. Guthrie birdied the first playoff to win. She finished the tournament with a two-day total of 80-79 - 159 on the Greenback course at Heron Lakes. Guthrie had already earned a spot on the 2009-10 All-NWC team by virtue of her individual victory at the NWC Fall Classic on this same course back in October. For the first time at an NWC event, the Pirates posted a lower team score on Sunday than they had on Saturday, allowing them to hold off the heavily favored Bruins. Whitworth shot 332 on Saturday and 322 on Sunday (a 79 and three 81's) to finish with a two-day total of 654, three strokes ahead of George Fox. The final team scores were: Whitworth 654, George Fox 657, Puget Sound 673, Linfield 684, Whitman 693, Pacific (Ore.) 698, Pacific Lutheran 736, Willamette 841, Lewis & Clark 896. Click here for the final NWC golf standings. Rachel Dubes and Mariesa Stombaugh provided steady senior leadership throughout the weekend. They tied for ninth in the final individual standings. Dubes shot 82-85 - 167, while Stombaugh posted an 86-81 - 167. Emily Travis went 87-81 - 168 to finish tied for 11th. Krystal Pitkonen (88-81 - 169) finished 15th and Elizabeth Martin (84-86 - 170) was 16th to put all six Whitworth golfers among the top 16 in the 50-player field. The co-championship with George Fox is the second straight shared conference title for the Pirates. Last year Whitworth went into the final tournament with a big lead in the standings, only to stumble and allow Puget Sound to climb into a tie and claim the NWC's automatic NCAA bid. But the Pirates demonstrated maturity down the stretch this spring. The 2010 NCAA Division III women's tournament will take place May 11-14 at the Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. Go to Athletics Home Page > Golf > Sports Releases > |
