OXFORD, AL – The Northwest Mississippi Community College women's golf team wrapped up play at the South District Preview at Cider Ridge Golf Club on Tuesday afternoon with a fifth-place finish, improving on their round one score by four strokes and placing three girls in the top 20 of the field that included multiple teams from last year's NJCAA Division II National Championship.
"It was good to see a golf course we will go back to in the spring to qualify for nationals, so from that aspect we took a lot of note, and it will benefit us a lot come springtime," Head Coach Adam Payne said.
Northwest once again had a player sit out, with Sarah Niblett unable to play, but she was replaced by day-one scratch Elsa Lomas Castillo on the scoring team to help them to a 54-over.
Only two strokes separated the Rangers from the top three, where Florida Gateway College and the host Snead State Community College finished at 110-over on the tournament. Jefferson State Community College placed second, with Shelton State Community College winning the tournament at 76-over par.
"I thought there were moments when we were just as good if not better than everyone out there, but there were also moments when we just got out of our shorts and didn't play like we were capable of, and that happens when you have young players," Payne said.
The highlight of the day was from Graysa Enders. The freshman moved up seven spots on the leaderboard after posting an 80 on her second round, improving by seven strokes from the opening day. She finished just four strokes back of the top five with a 23-over after 36 holes.
She was helped along by three birdies and only had two holes where she scored over bogey, finishing both sides at four-over for one of her better rounds of the season. She played the par-fives to just one-over, including birdies on the fourth and ninth holes.
Rylee Summerlin also put together a strong day after getting out to a lightning start, birdieing three of the first five holes to find herself at two-under going into the sixth, but a run of bogeys would slow the momentum going into the turn. She was able to recover the momentum and finished the day at 15-over, wrapping up the tournament at 28-over and in a tie for 15th place.
Right behind her at 31-over on the tournament and in a tie for 17th was Elizabeth Kilpatrick, who ended the day at 19-over, which was a step back from her 12-over on day one. The freshman was hit hardest on the par-five fifth, where she took a nine, but the toughest stretch came on the final seven holes, where she was ten over to close out her round.
Closing out the team score was Castillo, who finished her lone round of the tournament with an 84 to finish at 12-over. She also found herself under par after the first five holes, birdieing a pair, but a nine on the par-five ninth would send her into the back nine at five-over. Another tough stretch on the final three holes was her only non-par stretch of the back nine, and an eight on the par-four 16th was the real dagger in an otherwise fantastic day.
Evalynn Ward wrapped up the Rangers who were competing, and the sophomore transfer went into the tournament as an independent, and she would wrap up her second day with a 37-over for a final place at 46th in the field.
"We just need to learn to control emotions and understand this is a learning experience. I think overall we are getting better; we just are making some silly mistakes that are costing us the results that we want at the moment," Payne said.
Northwest was the top team from Mississippi in the field, finishing ahead of Northeast Mississippi Community College by nine strokes.
The Ranger women will be back in action next Monday and Tuesday when they travel to Harriman, Tennessee for the Roane State Invitational, hosted by Oak Ridge Country Club. That is the second of three straight tournaments that will conclude with a trip back to Alabama on October 12th and 13th for the Snead State Fall Invitational in Boaz at Cherokee Ridge Country Club.
Keep up with the Northwest women's golf team at nwccrangers.com or by following along on Ranger social media accounts.
