Eagles finish top ten in Big Sky Championship
MIKE MAYNARD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 months, 1 week AGO
Eastern Washington’s women's golf placed top ten in the Big Sky Championships. Spencer Cerenzia took top marks for the day with a hole-in-one on the par three, ninth hole.
COURTESY PHOTO/EWU ATHLETICS
LITCHFIELD PARK, AZ – Eastern Washington’s womens golf finished ninth in the Big Sky Championships on Wednesday, shooting 911 overall, according to a statement by Eastern Washington University Athletics.
"This week's finish was not the outcome we were hoping for after a strong finish last week," head coach Brenda Howe explained. "Day one had some good scores from our one, two and three seeded players, with the four and five struggling. Day two and three, the four and five seeded players [Brooke Mahler and Spencer Cerenzia] stepped up and did their job playing in those positions. Unfortunately, we struggled in the one-through-three spots the last two days."
Gabriella Ilardi rebounded in the final round today, shooting 73 (+2), recording four birdies to move into a tie for 11th on the individual leaderboard. She shot 219 (+6) for the Championships.
Kami Twining's Eagle career also came to an end in Litchfield Park, as the senior tied for 36th (231) at the Championships.
Freshman Spencer Cerenzia grabbed the highlight of the day for Eastern, knocking in a hole-in-one on the par-three, ninth hole.
"Gabbi [Ilardi] played well today with a couple of hiccups in the middle of the round but turned things around with a few late-round birdies," Howe added. "I'm really proud of Spencer following a breakthrough tournament last week. She was the wide-eyed freshman experiencing a conference championship for the first time on Monday, but once she settled down, she really stepped it up and fought until the end to provide us some crucial scores from the five-spot when the higher-seeded players struggled. She made her first hole-in-one today and had some bogeys before and after but finished her last six holes one under par. Brooke, playing in the four-spot, also finished strong to post a much-needed counting score."
Sacramento State won the championship, winning by 15 strokes over Weber State for second. The Hornets had an 853 (+1) for the three-day competition. Montana State's Maddie Montoya claimed the individual title, taking the top spot with a 69 (-2) today and a 209 (-4) total score for the championships. Sac. St.'s Caitlin Maurice earned runner-up status after shooting 210 (-3).
ARTICLES BY MIKE MAYNARD
Wildcats baseball fourth in preseason poll
ELLENSBURG — The Central Washington Wildcats baseball squad was ranked fourth in the Greater Northwest Conference preseason poll Thursday, according to statement by GNAC.
Broncos defeated in final home duel
RITZVILLE — The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos fell to the Colfax Bulldogs 53-24 Wednesday. Despite the loss, Head Coach Jason Hilzer felt his wrestlers still competed hard.
COLUMN: Is Kenneth Walker ready to step up?
This Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks face their toughest test in the playoffs when they host the Los Angeles Rams. One of the major storylines heading into this matchup is running back Zach Charbonnet being ruled out, leaving Kenneth Walker to carry the load. Which raises the question, is he capable? In the modern world of the NFL, a lot of coaches preach the imperativeness of the run game. When effective, it can open up other strategies on offense, like play action. Passing lanes open up as defenses have to show respect to the threat in the backfield.