Golfers open spring season

Story by Bailey Conklin, Sports Editor

The spring season for the Baker University golf teams began at the Graceland Invitational at Mozingo Lake Golf Course in Maryville, Missouri, on March 25-26. Out of the 14 men’s teams, Baker placed 11th, and out of the seven women’s teams, Baker tied for second.

The course saw less-than=perfect weather conditions both days of the tournament, which affected the golfers and their scores.

“It was tough, it was cold, which makes the ball not go as far, and obviously the wind affected the ball a lot,” sophomore Alec Wuellner said. “It literally rained the whole day Saturday, which was pretty miserable, but we just had to play through it and stay warm.”

Baker had two top 10 finishers individually in the women’s tournament, including freshman Samantha Mitchell, who placed eighth and finished with a 176 through two rounds. Sophomore Bailey Gibson placed 10th individually with a score of 179.

As a team Baker was beaten by Waldorf College, with a total team score of 716 for the two days. Baker finished the two days with a 719, which tied with Des Moines Area Community College. DMACC’s Ashley Dumler finished first in the women’s tournament shooting a 163. The Wildcats finished in front of fellow Heart of America Athletic Conference opponent Peru State, which took fifth for the weekend. The Graceland women’s team, another Heart opponent, fell short of having enough golfers to compete as a team.

In the men’s tournament, Baker had two golfers finish in the top 40. Wuellner finished tied for 31st with a 161 through two days, and junior Christian Bickley finished 37th in the tournament by shooting 163.

The Wildcats’ total team score was 663 through the two days. They were beaten by Heart opponents William Penn University and Graceland University. The Statesmen finished with a score of 621 and the Yellow Jackets finished with a team total of 616.

Both the men and the women will be back on the road to compete at the Mike “Fluff” Cowan Intercollegiate Tournament hosted by William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa April 2-4.