Fort Lewis College Athletics

Lance Wendt, Courtesy Photo

FLC sophomore Madalen Meier finished tied for 30th at the SMSU Spring Invitational (File Photo)

FLC women's golf opens spring season with 7th place finish at SMSU Spring Invitational

3/9/2021 6:23:00 PM

By: David Wilson, Assistant AD-Communications

LITCHFIELD PARK, Arizona — The Fort Lewis College women's golf team got a sneak preview at the RMAC Championships golf course site this week, opening the spring portion of its schedule at the SMSU Spring Invitational, hosted at Wigwam Golf Course.

Fort Lewis finished seventh overall with a team score of 684 (+116), one stroke back of fifth-place Wayne State College.

"We've still got some work to do, but with the limited practice we've been able to get in due to the weather, I'm pretty pleased with how we played," said FLC head golf coach, Jim Foltz. "The course is pretty difficult and there wasn't a lot of players shooting in the 70's. It's a longer course than you'd expect for a resort course. The greens are tiny and there are bunkers or water on almost every hole. You have to be very careful about where you're hitting the ball."

FLC was led by junior Emma Tornroos as she tied for 26^th overall at +27 (169), shaking off an opening round 89 to shoot an even 80 during Tuesday's final round.
Durango's own Madalen Meier was right behind in a tie for 30^th overall at +29 (171) with consistent rounds of 85-86.

"Madalen and Emma played very well for us and think they still left a lot of shots out there," Foltz said. "Emma was very close to shooting a 79 in that final round, so I was extremely pleased with those players. Going forward in our remaining tournaments and coming back down here to Palm Valley, I'm going to be looking at those two hard to fill those fourth and fifth spots."

Junior Emilia Manntz and sophomore Brooke Sturtevant followed in 34^th place and a tie for 35^th, respectively.

Manntz shot a +31 (173) and Sturtevant carded a +32 (174), while senior Kara Tschirhart complete the Skyhawks' lineup card with a +41 (183) to finish 44^th overall.

Playing unattached, fellow senior Sophie Schwartz, who knocked in the third most pars amongst all players in the tournament (11), earned a 41^st place finish with a tournament score of +37 (179).

"The girls were a little frustrated with their putting because it wasn't where we wanted it to be, but we'll work on that," Foltz said. "Emilia, Brooke, Sophie and those girls have better game that what we showed this week and we know that. We're just shaking off the rust."

Now back in the swing of things, the Skyhawks will look to build off this week's effort when they head off to the El Cheapo Classic, hosted March 22-23 at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo.

The next two tournaments will be important bench marks for FLC as it prepares for a return trip to Wigwam on March 18-20 for the RMAC Championships.

"We'll be taking five players per tournament moving forward, so those five that play at El Cheapo and the RJGA Palm Valley Classic are the ones I'll be looking at to represent us at the RMAC Tournament," Foltz said.

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