The Whitworth women’s golf team placed third last weekend out of the eight teams at the Northwest Conference Spring Classic, played in Pendleton, Ore. Freshman Nicole Lomax led the Pirates individually, finishing second overall.

As has been the story all season, the Bucs battled nasty weather.

“The weather was pretty bad,” junior Emily Guthrie said. “It was raining and windy. When the weather’s bad you don’t hit the ball as well, so it was really a bad game up and down.”

The Pirates were in third place at the end of Saturday. Lomax shot five over par and was in third place, followed by Guthrie, who finished Saturday tied for sixth.

Sunday was comparable to day one for Whitworth. The Bucs maintained their spot to finish third overall on the weekend, behind George Fox University and Whitman College, which placed first and second respectively.

“I think we’re just overall improving every week in practice,” Guthrie said. “We went to California for Spring Break and being able to play in the nice weather there really helped us in this tournament because we could actually go outside and practice every day.”

Lomax continued to lead Whitworth individually, shooting just four over par on Sunday to pull out the second place finish. Guthrie finished eighth overall.

“[We need to try] to improve mentally from the first day to the second,” Guthrie said. “And just try to get a better attitude and forget the score.”

Still hoping for springtime to arrive in Spokane, practice remains a challenge. Regardless, Guthrie thinks the team can still improve and do well at conference.

The Pirates travel to Richland, Wash., on April 14 for the NWC Preview before the NWC Championship, which will take place April 21 and 22.

Contact Sena Hughes at [email protected].