WARRENSBURG, Mo. – Northeastern State closed out its fall season with an exclamation mark winning the Midwest Classic by eight shots with a team score of 596 (295-301). This is the second straight week that NSU recorded a tournament win.
The RiverHawks held off a late charge from UCO, who pulled even with them on the back nine. Northeastern State held steady on the final two pins with an even score while the 'Chos fell apart with a seven-over.
"Words cannot do justice to how proud I am of this team," said head coach
Scott Varner. "This is a huge regular-season win. We preach that every shot matters, and we win and lose together as a team."
Three of the five RiverHawks finished in the top-10, led by
Kaylee Petersen, who took home second place with a score of 143 (71-72), just two strokes behind the winner.
Nina Lee fell off the lead but finished tied for fourth at 147 (69-78). The NSU sophomore would hit a hole-in-one to highlight her day on the 11th pin.
Aitana Hernandez took her fourth top-10 of the season and was sixth carding a 148 (76-72).
Kelly Swanson carded a score of 160 (79-81) while
Karlei Hemler finished at 162 (83-79).
The RiverHawks recorded 19 birdies as a team, second-most in the tournament behind Rogers State, who had 20.
Central Missouri finished in third, with Missouri Western, and Henderson State rounded out the top-five. UCO's Susana Olivares took medalist honors with a 141 score.
The RiverHawks will return to action on March 9 when they compete at the Diffee Ford Invitational in Edmond.
