The warm Arizona weather helped the Bradley women’s golf team get off to a good start in the spring season, as they finished tied for eighth of 18 teams at the Rio Verde Invitational.
Since last November, the golf team has been stuck inside practicing at the indoor facility. Coach Halley Morrell mentioned last week that she was eager to see how the indoor practice at the new facility transitioned to outside training in Arizona.
“We started better [this week] than we have the last three years, so it was a really big help,” Morrell said. “I think the indoor facility was good and it helped us a lot with the transition outside.”
The Braves shot a three-day total of 924 and junior Mara Flaherty paced the Braves for the first two days with scores of 73 and 76. Flaherty finished one shot behind her teammate, senior Megan Welch, who finished 229 with a final round 80.
“We proved this week that we can shoot low scores even with being inside for the last few months,” Flaherty said. “We have done a good job of honing in on the important aspects of golf and it is a testament to indoor facility and technology that we have … I felt more comfortable this week than I have in years past to start a season, which might be due to experience, but it was nice to be back on grass.”
By the end of the third day at the Rio Verde Invitational, Welch carded a final round 77 to lead the Braves with a three-day total of 228. The senior finished two shots out of the top 20 and seven shots out of the top 10.
“I was able to hit a lot of greens in regulation this week, which I have typically struggled with in the past,” Welch said. “I have been working on hitting more greens in regulation and now it is getting the mix of hitting more greens and fairways, then capitalizing on the opportunities to hit it closer to the pin and making birdies.”
Kennesaw State won the Rio Verde Invitational with a three-day team total of 865, after two Owls featured two of the top three individuals in the event. Missouri Valley Conference foes Illinois State and Missouri State finished in 4th and 5th place, respectively.
Freshman Maria Perakis finished 47th overall with a three-day total of 234. The Braves played two freshmen this week, the other being Kathryn McNease, who carded a tournament total of 238 to finish in a tie for 65th. Senior Sarah Nacos rounded out the Braves tied for 65th as well with teammate McNease.
Bradley will have the next week off as they prepare for the Jackrabbit Invitational held at Boulder Creek G.C. in Boulder City, Nevada on March 14.
