Tigers Lead Top-Quality Field At Rhodes Invitational
Individual and team records fall as Wittenberg wins competition hosted by 2014 NCAA Division III national champions.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Wittenberg Tigers have won five team titles already in the 2014-15 season, but none was as significant as their 10-stroke victory at the Joe Duncan Rhodes Invitational.
Not only did Wittenberg finish first in a seven-team field that included five teams listed in the top 18 in the most recent GolfStat NCAA Division III statistical rankings, but the Tigers did it in record-setting fashion. Wittenberg followed up a soggy round of 314 on Day 1 with a sizzling 302 on Day 2, four strokes better than the previous program standard. The Tigers' two-round total of 616 matched the score produced at the BSC Southern Shootout Oct. 7-8, 2012.
Wittenberg finished 10 strokes ahead of perennial powerhouse Washington University, which entered the weekend third in the GolfStat rankings. The Bears started the second round just one stroke off Wittenberg's lead. Defending national champion and host team Rhodes rounded out the top three with a score of 636.
To win a college golf tournament, an entire team must play well. But it helps when one player stands out above the crowd, which freshman Jane Hopkinson-Wood (Pottstown, Pa./The Hill School) did once again.
Hopkinson-Wood captured her third medalist trophy of the 2014-15 season after carding rounds of 74 and 72 to finish with a 146, six strokes clear of second-place Meg Healy of Rhodes. Hopkinson-Wood's 72 is the lowest score on record for a Wittenberg women's golfer, and it marks the first time that a Tiger has matched par in competition.
Hopkinson-Wood also smashed the program record for two-round score. The previous record was 150.
Junior Maggie Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) was next for Wittenberg with a two-round total of 154, good for a fourth-place tie. Sophomore Macy Hubbard (Mason, Ohio/Mason) took ninth with a score of 158, senior Nicole Waers (Canton, Ohio/Perry) finished 12th with a 164 and junior Allie Lawwill (Springboro, Ohio/Middletown) rounded out the Tigers' top five with a 165 to finish 14th.
In addition, senior Carolyn Wong (Naperville, Ill./Central) played as an individual in the tournament. She carded a two-round total of 167 to finish 18th in the 40-player field.
Written By: Ryan Maurer