Brian Oakley / nwccrangers.com

The official start of women's golf in the MACCC came from Northwest freshman Kali Figueroa, who was the first to tee off in Monday's MACCC Fall Preview Event at Tunica National.

Women's Golf 09/16/24 07:55 PM Brian Lentz

Northwest Golf Makes Debut in MACCC Fall Preview

Lady Rangers end opening round in second; Ranger men currently 10th

TUNICA RESORTS - Monday, September 16 marked a historical new chapter in the world of Northwest athletics, with the start of one program and the return of another.

Coached by Ryan Brickley, the Northwest women's golf program made its debut in Monday's MACCC Fall Preview at Tunica National Golf & Tennis Club in Tunica Resorts. Meanwhile, the Rangers' men's golf program returned to the links at the same event, ending a hiatus that had been in place following the end of the 2016-17 season.

Northwest is one of three MACCC programs unveiling the sport of women's golf this season, joining other first-year programs East Mississippi and Pearl River. Fittingly so, it was Lady Rangers' freshman Kali Figueroa that was the first to tee off, officially signaling the start of women's golf in the conference.

As a team, Northwest shot 404 and finished +116, finishing second behind East Mississippi and ahead of Pearl River.

Figueroa led all her teammates, shooting 91 and finishing +19. Freshman twin tandem Carinton and Zae'ja Davis finished second and third for the Lady Rangers, respectively, shooting 103 (+31) and 104 (+32). Addison Forbes and Maddie Baker rounded out the opening round for Northwest, shooting 106 (+34) and 109 (+37).

Meanwhile, the Northwest men finished 10th out of 11 teams, finishing ahead of Southwest Mississippi. The Rangers shot 328 as a team and finished +40.

Leading the way for Northwest was sophomore William Linehan, Jr., a member of the previous 2016-17 Rangers' team. Linehan shot 79 to finish +7, followed by freshmen Garrett Wright and Drew Dabbs, who tied at 82 (+10). Jeremy Gibson and Landon Masterson rounded out the team scoring for the Rangers, shooting 85 (+13) and 86 (+14), respectively.

Additionally, Hayes Smith competed individually in the men's field of competition, shooting 85 and finishing +13.

Second round action begins tomorrow morning at 8:30 A.M., when Gibson tees off on hole 10, followed by Masterson at 8:40, Dabbs at 8:50, Wright at 9:00 and Linehan at 9:10 A.M. Meanwhile, Smith will also tee off at 9:20, competing individually.

For the Lady Rangers, Figueroa will tee off at 9:30 A.M. from hole 10, followed by Zae'ja Davis at 9:40, Carinton Davis at 9:50, Forbes at 10:00 and Baker at 10:10 A.M.