Brennan leads No. 16 Women’s Golf to eighth of 16 at Illinois Wesleyan Spring Fling

April 20, 2008

By Gary Petit

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Senior Meagan Brennen carded a 78 to finish tied for first and lead the No. 16 Ohio Northern women’s golf team to eighth in a strong 16-team field at the Illinois Wesleyan Spring Fling.

Brennan carded a school record 73 in round one and finished tied with Olivet’s (Mich.) Amanda Sanders with a 36-hole total of 151. Sanders would take medalist honors as she won the scorecard playoff. This marks the seventh time Brennan has either won or tied for first at a tournament this season.

The Polar Bears followed up their school record round of 330 yesterday, with a 333 today on the 5,806-yard par 72, layout to finish eighth with a 663 total.

No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan shot a 36-hole total of 638 to win the event by one-shot over No. 9 DePauw (Ind.). No. 17 (NAIA) William Woods (Mo.) finished third at 651, #12 Olivet was fourth with 652 and No. 18 (NAIA) Saint Ambrose (Iowa) rounded out the top-five at 657.

Sophomore Persha Ford finished tied for 42nd with rounds of 84-86—170 as freshman Ashley Johnson and senior Amy Gillen were each one shot behind at 171. Gillen tied her career-low with an 83 in round two while Johnson posted the two lowest rounds of her career with an 85 and an 86.

Sophomore Megan Russell, playing as an indivdual, posted a solid finish with rounds of 83-85—168 to tie for 34th. Freshman Mindy Russell rebounded after a tough first round 97 to card an 89 in round two and finished 71st.

“Playing with some of the top teams in the country this weekend was great for us,” said ONU head coach Stacey Hairston. “We saw that we aren’t too far behind some of these teams and that allowed our ladies to play with more confidence. Hopefully we can take that confidence into the OAC Championships next week.”

The Polar Bears will host the OAC Championships next Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27, at the Colonial Golfers Club. Tee times begin at 10 am Saturday, and 9 am on Sunday.

Team Results
1. #6 Illinois Wesleyan 321-317—638, 2. #9 DePauw (Ind.) 314-325—639, 3. #16 (NAIA) William Woods (Mo.) 322-329—651, 4. #12 Olivet (Mich.) 322-330—352, 5. #18 (NAIA) Saint Ambrose (Iowa) 334-323—657, t6 #19 Wisconsin-Eau Claire 325-334-659, t6. Saint Mary’s (Ind.) 329-330—659, 8. #16 Ohio Northern 330-333—663, 9. #4 Wisconsin-Stevens Point 341-330—671, 10. Lindenwood (Mo.) 336-336—672, 11. Saint Francis (Ill.) 332-352—684, 12. #25 Wisconsin-Oshkosh 335-356—691, Illinois College 370-355—725, 14. Know (Ill.) 368-370—738, 15. Wisconsin-Platteville 359-391—750, 16. Viterbo (Wis.) 442-431—873.

Top 5 Individual Results
**t1. Amanda Sanders (Olivet) 76-75—151, t1. Meagan Brennan (ONU) 73-78—151, t3. Meghan Sobotta (WEC) 75-78—153, t3. Kristen Krieghauser (DeP) 76-77—153, 5. Tara Peterman (LU) 79-77—156. ** Won Scorecard Playoff

ONU Individual Results
t1. Meagan Brennan 73-78—151, t42. Persha Ford 84-86—170, t47. Ashley Johnson 85-86—171, t47. Amy Gillen 88-83—171, 71. Mindy Russell 97-89—186.

ONU Individuals
t34. Megan Russell 83-85—168.