March 24, 2008

Malone Women’s Golf Aiming For Successful Spring Campaign

After a strong showing in the fall, the Malone College women’s golf team, led by fifth-year head coach Max Baker, will look to experience continued success when it opens its 2008 spring schedule in late March. 

Starting this year, the primary season for NAIA women’s golf is in the spring.  In years past, NAIA women’s teams would play a limited schedule in March and April as their main focus was the fall, when they competed in conference/regional tournaments to qualify for the following spring’s National Championships.  However, beginning with the 2007-2008 campaign, NAIA women’s teams will now hold their respective national qualifying events in the spring with the winners of these tournaments receiving automatic berths to the NAIA National Tournament which is held each year in late May.

Malone’s young and talented roster, consisting of one senior, one junior, four sophomores, and two freshmen, gained a wealth of valuable experience in September and October that it will look to utilize in the coming months as it battles to earn the American Mideast Conference’s national tourney bid.

The Pioneers won the Walsh University Invitational and the Phipps Memorial Tournament last fall while placing third in both the Urbana University Invitational and the Ohio Dominican University Invitational. 

Sophomore Jennifer Blocker (Westerville H.S.) played very well in the fall, finishing second overall in both the Walsh and Phipps Memorial events.  Blocker averaged a score of 86.5 and earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Walsh Invitational following her strong play.

Sophomore Elena Duncan (Winona Lake, IN) posted an average of 89.2 and carded team-best scores at the Urbana and Ohio Dominican Invitationals.  Senior Heather Hall (Bellefontaine H.S.) and freshman Jennifer Snyder ( Wexford , PA ) also turned in solid performances throughout the four fall events with respective averages of 90.2 and 90.8.  Snyder joined Blocker on the All-Tournament Team at the Walsh Invitational with a third-place round of 90.

Others members of the 2007-2008 squad include junior Carinna Baldner (Hillsdale H.S.), sophomore Laurie Grubb (Lake H.S.), sophomore Sarah Ramsey (Kenton Ridge H.S.), and freshman Alyssa Westfall (Ashland H.S.).

Malone was scheduled to open its spring slate at the Fairfield (CT) University Tournament in Myrtle Beach , South Carolina on March 7-8, but because of the weather only nine holes were completed and, therefore, the tournament was unofficial and did not count.   The squad will now look to open spring competition on March 31st when it hosts the Ohio Cup at Zoar Country Club.
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