Warriors earn second in Viterbo Invitational
By Aaron Schneider
ONALASKA, Wis. – The Waldorf University women’s golf team earned second place in Sunday’s Viterbo University Invitational with an 18-hole team total of 363 strokes.
“It was a pretty good performance,” Waldorf coach Mark Clouse said. “Second place is good when competing against a conference foe in Viterbo. We know what we’re up against as we head toward the conference tournament in a couple weeks.”
Maggie Peters led the Warriors, securing second with an 11-over score of 83 on the par-72 layout at the La Crosse Country Club. The senior from Jewell recorded four birdies during the round.
“Maggie had a really nice round,” Clouse said. “That’s good to see her having that number of birdies in one round.”
Fernanda Valdes claimed third for the Warriors, firing an 85. The junior from Morelia, Mexico notched the 23rd top-10 finish of her career.
“Having those expectations tournament to tournament is good to have because steady and consistent scores like that help the team score,” Clouse said.
Waldorf junior Halle Hauer locked up 18th after carding a 96, junior Kailee Ward tied for 23rd with a 99-stroke total and sophomore Haleigh Biernacki took 34th with a 107.
Sophomores Haley Lawrence and Mckenzie Fahrni competed as individuals for the Warriors. Lawrence tied for 37th following a 110-stroke finish and Fahrni placed 40th with a 121.
The opening round of the tournament, originally scheduled for Saturday, was canceled due to course conditions following heavy rainfall.
“It was good to still get the event in with at least one of the rounds,” Clouse said.
Viterbo won the team title with 343 strokes. Waldorf (363) earned second to finish ahead of NCAA Division III’s St. Norbert College (373), the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (375), Viterbo’s Silver Team (385), NCAA Division III’s University of Wisconsin-River Falls (389) and Clarke University (397).
Viterbo’s Danielle Ducklow captured first with an 80-stroke performance.
Waldorf competes in Monday’s NIACC Fall Invitational, scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. at Fort Dodge. The Warriors won last year’s NIACC Fall Invitational and NIACC Spring Invitational.
“We’re looking forward to competing again on Monday,” Clouse said. “Hopefully, we can have a repeat performance of last year.”
Waldorf take on NCAA Division III’s Iowa Wesleyan University in Saturday’s match-play event for the Purple Cup, beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Forest City’s Bear Creek Golf Course. The Warriors also host the Waldorf Invitational on Sunday at 11 a.m.