With only a couple of tournaments left for the Saint Louis University golf team, both squads hit the links last weekend.The Billiken men’s golf team took 11th place out of 11 teams at the Branson Creek Invitational, which concluded on Tuesday. The Billikens registered a team score of 948 for the tournament. They were well behind champion University of Nebraska, who edged out Missouri State to capture the team crown. The Billikens were in 10th place after the second day, but Creighton University surpassed them on the last day.
The top finisher for the Billikens was freshman Collin Piercy, who placed 21st overall, shooting 227 over the three-round tournament. Piercy shot a blistering 73 in his final round, moving into 21st place. His final-round score was a career best.
Senior Barry O’Neill was the second-best finisher for the Billikens, coming in 47th place overall, with a score of 236. Senior John Campbell improved his scores with each successive day from 85 to 79 to 78, finally placing 52nd.
Junior Ryan Bleche, after barely breaking 90 on the first day, finished with a 75 and an 80 to place one spot behind Campbell. Overall, there were 64 golfers in the 11-team field.
Nebraska’s Ty Capps was the individual winner, shooting 215. His teammate, Brady Schnell, finished one spot behind him, losing by two strokes.
The Billikens will host their final home tournament ever on Monday, at the Gateway National Golf Links.
The women’s golf team closed out their final season on Tuesday, placing 15th out of 15 teams in the Payne Stewart Memorial. The University of Arkansas-Little Rock outdistanced the competition over the three-round tournament. They beat the second-place finisher, Illinois State, by 37 strokes, convincingly capturing the team title.
However, the Bills did put forth one of their best efforts of the season. Sophomore Jenny Madras placed 32nd overall.
Her 80 in the final round led the Bills to one of the program’s best one-day scores ever, 346. Madras shot 84 and 88 on the first two rounds.
Freshman Christa Cloutier placed 38th after recording scores of 84, 87 and 83 in the tournament. Freshman Caitlin Cummings placed 86th overall, with rounds of 103, 94 and 91. Sophomore Kaela Burke placed 83rd overall in the tournaments. She shot 97 and posted two rounds of 94.
Senior Amber Dodman closed out her career in convincing fashion. Dodman, who had a career average of 118 heading into this spring, recorded a career-best 92 on the tournament’s final day. Dodman shot 97 in each of the other two rounds, and finished 84th overall.
UALR’s Sara Wikstrom placed first overall, shooting 224, with splits of 80, 72 and 72. She beat the second-place finisher, Bradley’s Meaghan LeBlanc, by two strokes.
