GOLF

The Huntington golf program made the short trip to Winona Lake to play in Grace College’s Battle at the Henge over the weekend where both teams finished 7th.

On the men’s side, David Beck paced Sholund’s crew by firing a 72 in his first round to share third place and then followed that up with an 82 on Saturday to finish 11th out of 50 golfers.

“David was in third after round one,” said Coach Sholund. “For the second event in a row he’s put himself in position for a top five. It’s exciting to see him have that opportunity and I am sure he will learn to finish those opportunities. He’s off to a solid start for his junior year and learning to lead the way!”

Dillon McFaddin added a 160 (81-79) while Chance Bressler (87-84) and Colby Martin (87-84) turned in identical scores of 171 to finish tied for 44th. Carter Roseboom’s score of 173 (91-82) rounded out the Foresters’ line-up.

“We had a rough start on day one and then settled in fairly well,” noted Sholund “Day two we were mostly steady but did not handle the two toughest holes well and it cost us.

“Our bounce back from bad holes was much better and our short game showed signs of progress even with a short turnaround of events. These players are coachable, and you can see the gains they are making because of that.”

As a team, HU posted a 327 each day to finish with an overall score of 654.

Taylor shot an 18-over-par 599 to claim the team title followed by Lawrence Tech (605), Holy Cross (620), Mount Vernon (620), Spring Arbor (621), Grace (634) and HU (654).

Alexandria Maris shaved off four strokes from Friday to Saturday to card a 166 (85-81) for 20th place as Huntington’s top finisher on the women’s side.

“Alexandria again had a good bounce back from day one,” said Sholund “When she can get control of the bogey streaks and the occasional blow up hole, her score will be in range with her ability.

“She’s a strong player and hitting the ball well. It’s all in the short game and management of bad holes for her. We are excited to see her improve on that.”

Danielle Tinsley claimed 28th place by posting a 174 (88-86). Katie Springer finished the tournament strong with an 88 on Saturday to finish 35th with a 184. Abby Sheehan carded a 191 (97-94) to slide in at the #40 spot while Lauren Slottke rounded out HU’s scoring with a 205 (102-103) for 47th.

Sholund continues to like what he sees with Katie. “She is really growing as a player right now.  She’s improved so much since her freshman year. She has stuck to a process and it’s paying off.

“We improved in round two and that’s important,” said Sholund. “Our tee ball as a team is a strength. We are getting longer of the tee than we’ve been and that’s important for our progress.

“When we learn to make less mistakes around the green our performance will improve.  We have a lot of unforced errors in that area.”

Taylor also claimed the women’s title with a 627 followed by Grace (632), Saint Francis (641), Indiana Tech (663), Mount Mercy (664), Mount Vernon (687), HU (715) and Holy Cross (749).

Both teams are back in action for the IWU Fall Invitational on October 16-17.