OXFORD, ALA. - In their first taste of postseason action, the Northwest Mississippi Community College women's golf team placed seventh out of nine teams at the NJCAA DII South District Championship at Cider Ridge Golf Club.
NWCC shot 139-over across two days of competition and finished only two strokes behind sixth place.
Placing fourth overall, freshman AnaLeigh Little was the highest placing competitor for the Rangers. On the first day of competition, Little had birdies on holes two, four, ten and fifteen for a total score of 80 strokes or eight-over. Her four birdies on day one tied for the greatest number of birdies from a competitor on a single day of competition. Not only did Little birdie four times, she also shot on-par six times on day one.
Although Little had one less birdie on day two with three, she only shot over par five times over 18 holes. This allowed Little to improve her score by one stroke, finishing day two with a score of seven-over. Little's consistency over the two days of competition allowed her to move up one place on the leaderboard to finish in a tie for fourth.
The highest placing Ranger after Little was Bella McNeil who finished in 27th place with a combined score of 181 strokes or 37-over. On the first day of competition, McNeil shot 17-over with two birdies in the back nine on holes 14 and 18. McNeil also shot on-par on four holes on day one. Day two did not see McNeil birdie on any hole. However, she shot on-par nine times for a total score of 92.
The next two NWCC competitors on the leaderboard were Zaeja Davis and Madison Baker, finishing 32nd and 34th, respectively.
Like the majority of Northwest's team, Davis was consistent over the two days of competition, shooting 22-over on day one and 21-over on day two, good for a combined score of 43-over. On both days of competition, Davis shot on-par four times and was one of only two Rangers to move up the leaderboard on day two.
Finishing closely behind Davis, Baker shot on-par four times on day one to bring her score for the first round to 19-over. On day two, Baker only hit on-par for three holes and saw her score dip a little to 25-over.
Only competing on the first day of competition, Sarah Niblett finished in 49th place on the leaderboard with a score of 24-over. Niblett birdied hole seven and shot on-par five times.
Taking Niblett's place on day two as a substitute, Addison Forbes finished in 52nd place with a score of 39-over. Forbes shot on-par on holes eight and eleven.
The women will wait to hear if their efforts throughout the season so far are enough to earn a bid to the NJCAA DII Women's Golf Championship at the Ol' Colony Golf Course in Tuscaloosa, Ala. If the team earns an at-large bid, competition will begin on May 12 and will last until May 15. They are currently ranked eighth in the nation for NJCAA Division II schools and are expecting to pick up a bid as a team.
To stay up to date on the NWCC women's golf team, follow the Ranger social media accounts or go to nwccrangers.com.
