COON RAPIDS, Minn. - Fresh off a team win/program record and an individual win from
Morgan Philyaw (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) at Tuesday's UNW Invite, the University of Northwestern Women's Golf team is teeing it up again in the Twin Cities this weekend at Bunker Hills Golf Club, host of the St. Kate's Invite. The field is comprised of just four teams (UNW, Bethel, St. Catherine and Carleton), but they are consistently among the best Division III programs in Minnesota.
Day One
Northwestern's top three players in the lineup stayed hot to start the season, led by Philyaw and
Bri Brandt (Blaine, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy), who each shot 75 (+3) in the opening round and sit in a tie for third entering the final day, just one shot back of the leaders from St. Kate's.
Paige Johnson (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool) also had a strong day, turning in a 76 (+4), which puts the senior in solo fourth place, just two shots off the lead.
Brielle Lenz's (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) 86 (+14) rounded out the Eagles' scoring for the day, where they hold a six shot lead over Bethel with a score of 312 (+24). St. Kate's is in third place on Friday night with a score of 321 (one of their 74s is competing as an individual), and Carleton is in last at 337.
Ellie Rolland (Otsego, Minn./Rogers) followed up a scorching-hot 79 on Tuesday with an 88 (+16) on Friday, while
Hailey Nelson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) (86, +14) and
Kylie Voight (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) (93, +21) competed as individuals and were not eligible for the team scoring efforts.
The Eagles will tee it up Saturday morning at Bunker Hills as they attempt to start the season 2-0 as a team and boast back-to-back medalists.
Day Two
Entering the final round of play with a six-shot cushion, Northwestern was able to finish the job and win amongst the talented field with a score of 315 (+27) on Saturday to finish at +49 overall. Despite the four-team field, it is one of the more impressive team wins in program history, as all three teams UNW competed against has had national relevance in recent years.
Bri Brandt (Blaine, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) led the Eagles on Saturday with a 77 (+5) to finish in third place at +8 overall, while
Paige Johnson's (Zimmerman, Minn./Homeschool) 78 (+6) and
Morgan Philyaw's (Jordan, Minn./Jordan) 79 (+7) put the dynamic senior duo in a tie for fifth.
Brielle Lenz (Marshfield, Wis./Marshfield) improved upon her first round score with an 81 (+9) to put her at +23 for the tournament, while
Ellie Rolland (Otsego, Minn./Rogers) improved by two strokes with a Saturday 86 (+14) to get to +30 overall.
Kylie Voight (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area), competing as an individual, saw the biggest improvement of any Northwestern golfer, shaving 13 strokes off her first round score to shoot 80 (+8) on day two and finish at +29 for the tournament.
Hailey Nelson (Coon Rapids, Minn./Legacy Christian Academy) followed up her 86 with an 88 (+16) to conclude her weekend at +30.
Up Next
The Eagles will tee it up again on Thursday morning at the UMAC Preview in Becker, Minnesota, competing against the rest of the conference. Tee times are scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM at Pebble Creek Golf Club.
