REDMOND, Ore. - Claiming the first major Northwest Conference tournament in Whitworth women's golf history, the Pirates won the NWC Fall Classic at Juniper Golf Course on Sunday, holding off defending conference champion Pacific in the process.
Whitworth opened up a ten stroke lead over Puget Sound (341-351) after Saturday's round, then cruised to a win on Sunday by 14 strokes over Pacific. The final team scores were: Whitworth 341-357 - 698; Pacific (Ore.) 357-355 - 712; George Fox 360-353 - 713; Puget Sound 351-370 - 721; Linfield 361-369 - 730; Pacific Lutheran 414-399 - 813; Willamette 423-417 - 840. Lewis & Clark did not field enough competitors for a team score and Whitman did not compete at all. Liz Martin (Fr., Portland, Ore.) led the Pirate women by finishing third overall. She followed an 84 on the first day with an 85 on Sunday for a two-day score of 169. Mariesa Stombaugh (Jr., Salem, Ore.) was steady both days, firing 86-86 - 172 to finish sixth individually. Krystal Pitkonen (Jr., Colbert, Wash.) led Whitworth on the first day with an 83, but fell back on Sunday with a 91 to score 174 and finish 8th. Alicia Bratlien (Jr., Poulsbo, Wash.) shot 88-95 - 183. Sophie Sestero (So., Boise, Idaho) scored 98-102 - 200 and Rachel Dubes (Jr., Quincy, Wash.) shot 96-105 - 201 to round out the Whitworth scores. Willamette's Whitney Ueno was the individual medalist by nine strokes, shooting 74-82 - 156. Whitworth now gains eight points toward the final NWC golf standings, while defending conference champion Pacific scores seven points. The NWC Fall Classic counts 25% toward the final conference standings. The NWC Spring Classic will count 25%, and the end-of-the-year NWC Tournament will count 50%. Last season the Pirates finished second in the Fall Classic, dropped to fifth in the Spring Classic, but rallied back up to second in the final NWC Tournament to finish second in the final conference golf standings. Go to Athletics Home Page > Golf > Sports Releases > |
