Cabot, Ark. -- The Missouri Southern men's golf team finished in 6th, while the women were 13th at the Natural State Golf Classic hosted by Harding University.
The men moved up a spot after yesterday's first round that was conducted at Greystone Country Club. The women remained in 13th from day one to two after playing 36 holes at Cypress Creek Golf Club.
"This was a good finish for the men and this is the type of result we're looking for," said head coach
Mike Wheeler. "I'm really proud of
Connor Williamson and
Ben Epperly and (Ben) Marckmann's individual performances, but the team impressed me overall by their play in extremely tough conditions."
"The women are a work in progress, but this is our first outing, and we're not where we want to be. We had two freshmen playing in their first tournament's and we will continue to work to improve."
The men moved up one spot from yesterday and had a pair of golfers finish at even par today. Williamson had six birdies on the day, while Marckmann had five. Both players finished with an even par 72 as Williamson finished tied for ninth individually at 149 and Marckmann was tied for 15th at 150.
Epperly shot a 78 and finished with a 154 over the 36 holes, while
Josh Hamnett (168) and
Jonathan Sanchez (170) round out the men's scores.
Arkansas Tech shot even par as a team for the second-straight day to win the team title. Missouri Western was second, followed by Henderson State, Central Oklahoma, Southwestern Oklahoma, the Lions, Missouri-St. Louis, Sioux Falls, Northeastern State Harding, Southeastern Oklahoma, Southern Arkansas, Harding's B team, Arkansas-Monticello, Southern Nazarene, Oklahoma Baptist, Northwestern Oklahoma, Lincoln and Newman.
The women had four of the six golfers improve scores from day one to two.
Julianna Washka led the way with a two-day total of 168, improving her score two strokes from day one to wo.
Iratxe Fernandez-Cano Aldasoro shot a 169, while
Maggie Moore improved by 13 strokes to shoot a 175.
Kenzie Kirkhart improved by a stroke to shoot 175, while
Madison Saenz improved by nine strokes to shoot a 181.
Missouri-St. Louis won the women's team title by 20 strokes over second-place Arkansas Tech. Southwestern Oklahoma was third, followed by Northeastern State, Rogers State, Central Oklahoma, Harding, Davenport, Oklahoma Baptist, Sioux Falls, Arkansas-Monticello, the Lions, Southern Arkansas, Northwestern Oklahoma and Lincoln.
Both teams will be back in action on March 15 and 16 when the men and women travel to Owasso, Okla. to compete in the Rogers State Hillcat Classic. The event will be played at Bailey's Ranch Country Club.
