Bradley women’s golf traveled to Kennesaw, Ga., on Monday and Tuesday to compete in the Pinetree Intercollegiate.
After a rough start to the spring season, the Braves hoped to bounce back in this outing. Unfortunately, the team placed 12th out of 12 teams that competed in the event.
“We have been working hard in practice these last few weeks on some weaknesses and have seen a lot of progress that has not necessarily translated into the team scores quite yet,” head coach Halley Morell said. “We are going to keep working and doing different practice drills, and hopefully the results will show in these next few events.”
Despite the poor results, the tournament provided valuable experience for Bradley, who played against some of the best in the nation.
“This tournament featured four of the top 100 in the country,” Morell said. “We were able to see areas where these other teams excelled and where we need to improve to be more competitive in elite fields such as this one.”
Senior Maria Perakis led the Braves, scoring 13-over-par and tying for 27th place. She performed best in round two, shooting a two-over-par 73.
“I need to continue to work on staying comfortable and swinging confidently under tournament pressure,” Perakis said. “It’s what allowed me to play more consistently in Georgia this week. I’m going to continue to swing confidently and trust my preparation process going into the next tournament. Just go out there and see what happens.”
Juniors Allison Pacocha and Caroline McConnell tied for 56th place, shooting 21-over-par. Pacocha had a rough first round but bounced back, scoring best in round two as well with a three-over-par 74. McConnell’s best round was her first, shooting a two-over-par 73.
Sophomores Jillian Cosler and Brooke Deebs rounded out Bradley’s lineup for the tournament. Cosler was tied for 62nd, shooting 24-over-par, and Deebs placed 64th with a 26-over-par score. Each had their best rounds in round two, with Cosler shooting a four-over-par 75 and Deebs shooting a seven-over-par 78.
The Braves have one more tournament on April 6-7 at the Purdue Boilermaker Classic before traveling to Waterloo, Ill., for the Missouri Valley Conference Championships from April 13-15.
