West Liberty, W. Va. – With the tournament portion of their schedule in the books, the Wheeling University Women’s Golf team kicked off a string of match play action on Thursday. They took part in the classic “The Battle for Wheeling” as they took on West Liberty at the Crispin Golf Course at Oglebay Park. The Cardinals would have three golfers shoot +7 or better across the nine holes of play with the veterans leading the way.
It was a tie for the top spot on the day, with senior Nicole Lincicome and junior Ella Keffer each shooting a 41 (+5) for the round. Keffer was building off the momentum of a career high finish to the MEC Spring Classic and, after starting the day with a +2 through two holes, she hit her first par of the day on hole three. Hole six would be her biggest success of the day, picking up her first birdie of the day and taking one stroke off her score. It would be a boost for the junior, who hit par on two of her final three holes and finished the round shooting a 41. It would be a +5 effort for the junior as she continues her success on the course. She finished right around her season average in the effort and looks to continue lowering her average round score.
The other Cardinal to hit the +5 mark was Nicole Lincicome, who finished with an identical 41 on the day. After a +2 on hole one, the senior would settle in, hitting par on three straight holes to get herself goin. She would hit par one more time before the round was over, but her best was yet to come as she teed off on hole nine. She would hit her first birdie of the day, scoring a 2 as she finished with the 41 in the effort. Finishing two strokes above her was Brielle Milhoan, who was teamed up with Lincicome on the day. Holes one and two would cause her problems, but from there she would settle in. She would hit a streak at the end of the round, hitting four straight pars to end things strong. It left her at +7 for the event as she had a bounce back effort.
The final golfer for the Cardinals was Mallory Bozovich, who finished with a 55 on the day. Her best hole would come on the fourth hole of the day, when she picked up a par shooting for in the event. It was another growth round for the first time golfer as she continues her growth on the course.
The Wheeling University Women’s Golf team returns to action on Saturday, April 26th, when they take on Bethany in match play.