Bearcats to Compete at Northwest Conference Spring Classic in Olympia

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Members of the Willamette University women's golf team will compete at the Northwest Conference Spring Classic on Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14 at the Olympia Golf & Country Club, in Olympia, Washington. The Bearcats and other golfers will play 18 holes on Saturday and another by 18 holes on Sunday.

Golfing for Willamette will be Lexi Towner (Jr., Chico, CA/Chico HS), Kristen Barclay (Jr./So., Kenmore, WA/Cedar Park Christian School) and Katerin Vasquez (So., Indio, CA/Coachella Valley HS). Towner will tee off at 10:50 a.m. (PDT), while Barclay will start her round at 11 a.m., and Vasquez will get underway at 11:10 a.m. Overall, women's athletes participating in the tournament will begin playing between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.

Shiyang Fan from Whitman College won medalist honors at the NWC Fall Classic last October with a score of 5-over-par 149 (73-76). Iris Kawada and Kayle Hunn of George Fox University tied for second place, along with Emma Beyer of Whitman, as all three golfers shot 157. Kawada earned scores of 80 and 77, Hunn carded 82 and 75, and Beyer registered rounds of 81 and 76.

Tanner shot 189 (96-93) during the Fall Classic. She tied for 28th place after moving up two spots in the second round.

George Fox won the Fall Classic team title with a score of 635 (323-312). Whitman was second at 642 (324-318), while Lewis & Clark College took third at 670 (336-334). Whitworth University was fourth at 684 (338-346), with Pacific University in fifth at 719 (359-360), Pacific Lutheran University in sixth at 729 (363-366), and University of Puget Sound in seventh at 768 (396-372). Willamette and Linfield did not enter complete teams.

The NWC Spring Classic is one of three tournaments used to determine the overall NWC champion. The Fall Classic was worth one-fourth of the overall title and the NWC Spring Classic also will be worth one-fourth. The NWC Tournament on April 27-28 at Wine Valley Golf Club, in Walla Walla, Washington, will count for one-half of the title.