The Baker University men’s and women’s golf teams continue to roll after a long strand of tough competition.
The Baker women began their long series of play with a first place finish in the Avila-Evangel Universities Fall Invitational in Clinton, Mo. The women played in the 36-hole event Sept. 27 and Friday, finishing with a winning score of 737, 16 strokes under second place Evangel.
Head coach Karen Exon said she was very pleased with the team’s ability to adjust from one day to the next.
“We played a whole lot better the second day because we’re becoming a much stronger team,” she said. “I’m just really impressed with this year’s golf team, all seven of them.”
Freshman Dani Weimholt led the way for the women with a score of 182, followed closely by sophomore Melissa Brown who finished with 183. Exon said she continues to be impressed with Weimholt’s play, physically and mentally.
“She’s playing some really nice golf,” she said. “She’s got great length and manages the course pretty well. She doesn’t get too wound up on bad holes.”
The women’s team fed off of its first place finish and continued the success Monday and Tuesday in a second place finish in the William Woods University Fall Invitational. The Wildcats competed in Fulton, Mo. against six other teams.
Brown, who led the ‘Cats with a low score of 159, said she thought everyone on the team performed to their potential and is happy with the scores.
“I think it was the best score that we’ve shot in at least five years,” she said. “We were eight strokes off of the school record. I think everyone was happy with their performances. Overall, I think it was really good and I think we can just continue to improve.”
Exon said she is proud of Brown’s consistent performance as well as the rest of the team’s effort.
“Melissa is playing some really nice golf. She was solid last week, and this week she was real solid too,” Exon said.”The girls are looking really good. They just finished their third tournament and have placed first or second in all of them.”
Like the women, the Baker men had a strong showing in the William Woods University Fall Invitational, finishing third behind William Woods and Missouri Baptist University. Freshman Chris Wilson was the individual runner-up for the tournament, finishing one under par in two days, to total his score to 143. Senior Michael Kahler had a strong showing to follow Wilson with a score of 154.
Kahler said he is very impressed with Wilson’s play and low scores.
“Chris is a great player. He’s the most consistent golfer on our team,” Kahler said. “He played exceptionally well as a freshman and that’s really impressive. He’s doing really well and scoring well.”
Exon said she placed Wilson in the No. 1 spot on the men’s squad based on his previous performance in the Lindenwood tournament. She said she put the pressure on him and was pleased with how he performed.
“Chris’ performance is really impressive for us because he’s a newbie, and all the more impressive when taken against the career rounds of the tournament winner,” Exon said.
The men’s and women’s teams will compete at the Southwestern College Tournament Monday and Tuesday in Winfield. The tournament will mark the final fall competition for the women.