TIGER GOLF FINISHES THE FALL SEASON ON A HIGH NOTE, MONCUR TIES FOR THIRD
Niobrara, Neb. –
The DWU Golf teams ended the fall campaign with great performances on both sides. Erin Moncur ended the Tatanka Fall Invite tied for third and Connor Calahan finished in fifth. The women's team grabbed the third-place finish and the men finished in fourth.
Quick Stats
Athlete R1 R2 Final
Men
Connor Calahan 77 73 150
Peyton Bettcher 78 74 152
Juan Florez 77 77 154
Jackson Childs 79 82 161
Carson Van Beek 80 81 161
Women
Erin Moncur 81 83 164
Ashton Austreim 85 84 169
Sara Sudenga 96 82 178
Kaylee Johnson 93 88 181
Kelsey Morrison 111 112 223
How It Happened –
Day One
The women's team put in the work to fight for third place as a team. Erin Moncur led the team as she was tied in first after putting in an impressive 81. Right behind Moncur was Ashton Austreim, who was only four strokes behind the top with her 85, two strokes off her season best. Kaylee Johnson and Sara Sudenga kept it close with one another as they turned in scorecards with 93 and 96 respectively. Kelsey Morrison was the final Tiger with a 111. Head Coach Jeff Meyerink had this to say about the first round for the women "We struggled but fought for third place finish as a team after day one. I know this team is more than capable of coming back from a 10-shot deficit on this very challenging course. They just need to find the confidence to hit the shots. Erin had a phenomenal day and holds a share of the lead at plus nine. She's starting to put everything together and if she rolls it well tomorrow, she will be tough to beat."
The men's team had a tough finish to day one, as they fell from third as a team to fifth after rugged last hole. Freshman Connor Calahan and Juan Florez each finished round one with a 77 to lead the team. Peyton Bettcher kept up with the two freshmen, only one stroke behind them with his 78 after round one. Jackson Childs wanted to be apart the action as well and turned in a 79 at the end of the day, his lowest round of the season so far. Carson Van Beek finished the first day with an 80. Coach Meyerink had this to say "On the men's side we had a good day going until the last hole, just couldn't finish and that dropped us from third to fifth. Connor Calahan had a nice round with a 77 and Jackson had his lowest round of the year with a 79. Juan continues to impress with the ease in which he gets it around the course. If the putts go in, he will be a top tier player in the GPAC, no doubt!"
Day Two
The women team ended day two strong with a third-place team finish. Moncur finished the day with an 83 to be tied for third as she parred seven holes on the back nine. Austreim had herself another great round, as she cut a stroke off and finished with an 84 to grab a sixth-place finish. Sudenga, the only freshman on the team, cut an impressive 14 strokes off her round one score to finish with an 82 and be tied for that tenth spot. "Erin had a rough start but turned it around shooting a 38 on the more difficult back nine to card an 83, she has been a great leader for this group. Ashton played well both days for us, she really performed well this fall season and has been a consistent contributor to our team score. Sara had turned it around from day one and shot a team low 82 today with new irons in the bag. A great performance by all of the girls to end the fall season," as Coach Meyerink put in his thoughts on the women's second round performance. Johnson showed her skill and was able to cut down her stroke count and finish with an 88 and was able to finish tied for 13th. Morrison turned her scorecard in with a 112 to round out the Tiger scores.
The men's team was led by the freshman Calahan and Florez as well as sophomore Bettcher. Calahan finished in fifth place as he turned in a 73, his best single round score this season. Bettcher improved from the day before, cut four strokes off, and put up a 74 to be tied in the 10th spot. Coach Meyerink shared his thoughts on the men's performance, "Connor finish in fifth place. He hits the ball as far as anyone I know and he took advantage of that today. I know he wanted a few more putts to drop but an outstanding finish for the freshman. Peyton also continues to improve, he scored as high as he could have for the way he hit it, he just plays a great game and finished in a tie for 10th, that is a promising sign for this young team." Florez stayed consistent, so consistent he turned in another 77 as well as eagling his last hole of the day, the same hole he double bogeyed in round one. Childs finished the second round with an 82 and Van Beek turned in an 81 as the two came out tied for 33rd to round out the scores.
Up Next for the Tigers
The DWU women's golf team finished up their fall season with this meet. The men's team will have one more meet, as they travel to compete in the Sand Creek Intercollegiate Invitational in Newton Kansas.