by Will Carsh
The first day of the Lewis & Clark Invitational ended with both the men’s and women’s teams in first place and contained notable performances. Junior Oliver Rudnicki led the team with a score of 69, while junior Andrew Dodge, junior Austin Billeter, sophomore Jamie Carroll and Junior Samson Martinez all contributed with scores of 76, 81, 82 and 84, which all led to a Whitworth lead of 304 over Pacific Lutheran University, Willamette University, Linfield College, George Fox University, Pacific University and Lewis & Clark College.
On the women’s side, freshman Katie Ochoa and junior Chelsea Bayley held the first and second place with scores of 79 and 80 respectively, with senior Nicole Lomax’s 83, sophomore Michal Schuster’s 86, and junior Cindy Tapia’s 94 also being of particular note and contributing to Whitworth’s 328 at the end of the first day.
“I’ve hit in the 70s before, but doing it in a college tournament means so much more,” Ochoa said on her victory last weekend.
However, the tournament was cancelled due to poor weather conditions on the second day, meaning that the first day’s scores ended up being final.
“We were fortunate enough to come out strong and end the first day ahead,” Rudnicki said.
Indeed, the weather conditions were prevalent even on the first day, testing the team’s abilities greatly. Despite the circumstances, Whitworth excelled.
“We had a lot of fantastic performances today,” head coach Warren Friedrichs said in reflection upon the tournament.
The Whitworth golf teams play April 3 in Walla Walla for the Whitman Invitational.
After the Whitman Invite, both teams will gear up for the NWC Spring Classic as the men look to continue their championship form from the NWC Fall Classic last semester.