Bearcats Finish in Third, One Stroke out of Second, at GFU Culturame Classic

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

ALOHA, ORE. -- Willamette University began the second day of the George Fox University Culturame Classic in third place, eight strokes behind the University of California at Santa Cruz. During the second day of the tournament on Sunday, Oct. 7 at The Reserve Vineyards Golf Club, the Bearcats made a run at catching the Banana Slugs, erasing seven strokes from the UCSC lead.

Willamette finished in third place just one stroke behind UCSC, but the run by the Bearcats showed the continued growth of the women's golf program, which features four sophomores and two freshmen.

George Fox University won the team title with a combined score of 632 (315-317) for 36 holes. UC-Santa Cruz took second place at 661 (328-333). Willamette followed in third place at 662 (336-326).

Kelsey Morrison from George Fox won medalist honors with a score of 151 (75-76). Kiana Lumanlan of GFU took second place at 154 (79-75) and Emily Stevens of UC-Santa Cruz was third at 159 (80-79). Emily Guthrie from Whitworth University was fourth at 160 (87-73), as she charged toward the top of the leaderboard with a tournament low round of 73 on the second day.

Nicole Smith (So., Portland, OR/Westview HS) of Willamette tied for fifth place with a 162 (80-82). Abby Mann from George Fox also tied for fifth place at 162 (81-81).

Willamette's Taneesh Kaur Sra (Fr.) tied for eighth place with two other golfers at 165. Kaur Sra shot an 87 in the first round and a 78 in the second round.

Three other Bearcats finished higher than 16th out of the 39 golfers competing. Mckenzie Weinhold (So., Placerville, CA/El Dorado HS/U. of Nevada-Reno) placed 11th by carding a two-round score of 166 (86-80). Elise Levy (Fr.) tied for 13th place at 171 (85-86) and LettaJoe Gallup (So., Alameda, CA/Holy Names HS) tied for 15th place with a score of 172 (85-87).

Mele Ana Kastner (So., Vancouver, WA/Columbia River HS) of Willamette shot a 189 (93-96), while competing as an individual. Each team was limited to a maximum of five scoring players, with the four lowest scores counting toward the team score each day.

Willamette will participate in the Whitman Invitational at the Tri-Mountain Golf Course in Ridgefield, Wash., on Saturday, Oct. 13. The event is being hosted by Whitman College.