NORMAL, Ill. - The Saint Mary's golf team shot a 316 and claimed seventh place at the Illinois Wesleyan Kathy Niepagen Spring Fling at Ironwood Golf Course. 

 

The No. 12 ranked host squad from Illinois Wesleyan captured the team title with a 293 on Sunday for a 36-hole score of 581. No. 11 ranked St. Catherine moved up the leaderboard with a 295 for second place (598). No. 18 ranked Carleton placed third with a 619 after a 321 on day two. The fourth through eight place spots were separated by just eight strokes as the Belles finished with a 629 on the weekend - one stroke ahead of Aurora and one stroke behind No. 24 ranked Grinnell. Macy Ludwig from Illinois Wesleyan took the individual title after shooting a 74 on Sunday and finishing the weekend with a 141.

 

Amanda Melling led the way for Saint Mary's on day two with a three-over par 75 (36-39), marking the best 18-hole round of her collegiate career to-date. She finished the tournament in 14th place with a 152 over 36 holes. Melling had seven consecutive pars early in her round and posted six in-a-row before capping off the round with a birdie on par three No. 4. She did not turn in a score above a bogey and was even on the front nine. Her five total birdies over the weekend was tied for the fifth-most in the field.

 

Julia Lizak and Haley Angel both shot rounds of 77 for the Belles. Lizak, who finished tied for ninth (150) in the field of more than 100 golfers, started the round with three pars and finished the day with 12 pars and a birdie on par four No. 15. She ended the tournament with five birdies (t-5th) and 22 pars (t-11th) while finishing with the second-best par four scoring average. Her 150 for a 36-hole tournament is the best two-day total of her collegiate career to-date. Angel, meanwhile, had a stretch of five pars on the back nine on her way to 11 pars. The senior finished tied for 34th with a tournament total of 160. She also circled a birdie on par four No. 1 in the round and did not have a score above a bogey.

 

Colleen Hand wrapped up the team score with an 87 and tied for 59th overall with a two-day total of 167. The freshman had four pars on the front nine with four pars on the back nine in the round. Breana Harrington carded a 93 on the day for the Belles and tied of 82nd with a 177 on the weekend. Harrington collected four pars on the day.

 

The Belles are back in action on Wednesday, April 17 when they compete in the Albion Cascades Invitational in Jackson, Michigan starting at 11:00 a.m.