Two seniors came up with big weekends on the links for the Bowling Green golf teams to help lead them to two top 10 finishes. Adam Balls and Jenny Schnipke were the top golfers this weekend with one finishing in the top ten and the other just outside. Balls finished ninth at the Bullock Collegiate Classic with a three-round score of 230. Schnipke just missed the top 10 finishing 11th at the Eastern Kentucky University Invitational with a three-round score of 238.
The men finished third out of 15 teams at the event hosted by Wright State in Fairborn, Ohio, at the Greene Country Club. They finished with a team score of 925, which was 27 shots off tournament winner Eastern Kentucky.
Harsh weather conditions made scores low all weekend, but the Falcons made a leap from seventh to third in the final two rounds.
“We didn’t play too well the first day of the tournament. Then we struggled again in the second round on the second day, but the third round the guys played really well and tied Eastern Kentucky for the lowest round of the tournament,” Head Coach Garry Winger said. “The harsh weather conditions really dictated the whole tournament. They are as difficult of conditions as you’ll play in with high winds and the greens being the way they were.”
Other big finishers on the weekend for the men were Heath Ziglar (T-22nd), Brad Dearsman (T-30th) and Craig Pickerel (T-42nd). Freshman Dan McIntyre also competed and was in 21st after round one.
“I was proud of everyone that final round and how they handled the conditions. There was a sense of desperation that final day and I’m proud of the way they handled it,” Winger said. “It was also important getting Dan and Brad some tournament experience that they haven’t had.”
The women’s team finished ninth of 15 teams at the EKU Invitational. Their team score was 1,001. Murray State won the tournament with a team score of 919.
Schnipke was the top finisher for the women with three rounds of (75-85-78).
“Jenny played well and had a good first round before struggling a bit in the second round on day one. Then she had a good final round for us on Saturday,” head coach Kurt Thomas said. “She’s really starting to play better now for us and had a good finish.”
Other finishers for the women were Julie Wise (T-50th), Kari Liggett (T-56th) and Amanda Schroeder (T-64th).
“I don’t think we played as well as we could have, but it was good preparation for this upcoming week,” Thomas said.
The men will head to Akron Saturday to play in the First Energy Intercollegiate. The women will prepare for the Mid-American Conference Championship in Hamilton, Ohio, that starts Friday.
