ST. MICHAEL, Minn.- When you look at dates that are important in the history of the University of Northwestern Women's Golf program, it would be hard to ignore September 5^th, 2023. It was a hot Tuesday afternoon and the Eagles were beginning their season by hosting the UNW invite. Not only would the Eagles win the meet by over 60 strokes, but they would shoot the best round as a team in UNW Women's Golf history. On top of that, freshman Paige Johnson (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool) would shoot the lowest round as an individual in program history on this historic day at Fox Hollow Golf Club.

• Results

If Paige Johnson (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool) was nervous to play in her first ever college golf meet, she sure had a strange way of showing it. The first year player would stay cool, calm, and collected on her way to shooting the best round in the history of Eagle Women's Golf. She shot a 77 (+5) which edged out the previous school record of 78 which was held by two players: UNW Athletics Hall of Famer Kristina Siemens and current UNW senior (who did it last year) Mattie Krause (Clear Lake, Iowa/Clear Lake). Johnson won the UNW Invite by a comfortable six strokes.

Johnson was not the only impressive Eagle on display on Tuesday as UNW had the top five finishers on the leaderboard. Kirsten Darling (Coon Rapids, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) landed in second place by shooting an 83 (+11). Mattie Krause (Clear Lake, Iowa/Clear Lake) and Morgan Eckman (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) each shot an 84 (+12) to land in third place. Kelly Van Den Bussche (Princeton, Ill./Princeton) rounded out the top five by shooting an 89 (+17).

Sondra Melby (Ham Lake, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) and Maddie Whitcomb (Princeton, Minn./Princeton) each finished in the top ten with a 100 (+28) while Isabelle Lee (Stillwater, Minn./St. Croix Prep) finished in 11^th place overall by shooting a 101 (+29).

The Eagles' team score of 328 was the best in program history and gave them plenty of cushion to win the UNW Invite. They were 66 strokes ahead of Crown who finished in second place. The Eagles topped their previous record of 333 (+45) which occurred on October 1^st of last season.

UNW will have plenty of positive momentum as they head into their next event late next week. The Eagles will compete in the UMAC Preview at Pebble Creek Golf Club on Thursday, September 14^th.