WGOLF: Van Dyke turns in top-10 card at The Wood’s Invitational

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Defiance College's women's golf team turned in a solid showing at The Wood's Invitational hosted by St Mary-of-the-Woods College on Friday and Saturday led by a ninth-place finish by freshman Cassady Van Dyke. 

The Yellow Jackets shot 741 in their second tournament of the spring campaign to finish fifth among six teams and shaved 11 strokes off Friday's total on Saturday. The 741 team total is the fourth-lowest in program history and the fourth sub-750 tournament between the fall and spring seasons.

Van Dyke's top-10 was built by rounds of 88 and 87 on the weekend to match a personal best 36-hole score of 175. She was led Defiance in every stretch except the final back-nine of the weekend, shooting rounds of 42 and 41 on the front-nine and twin 46s on the back half of Idle Creek Golf Course. The freshman's 175 is also tied for the eighth-lowest 36-hole score in program history. It was also Van Dyke's fourth tournament finishing as Defiance's top golfer.

The only DC golfer to top Van Dyke on any nine-hole section was Isabelle Vance with a 45 during Saturday's back-nine. Vance shot 182 for the tournament on 18-hole scores of 95 and 87, also tying Van Dyke for the lowest score for Defiance on the weekend. She nearly shot a sub-40 on the front nine of Saturday's competition, but a triple-bogey on the fourth hole spoiled a par-birdie-par rally just before taking the turn to the tenth. Saturday's 87 was Vance's personal best for her career.

Winter Boroff enjoyed the front-nine as well with 43s on both days. She birdied the par-5 fourth hole on Friday and beat par again once on Saturday on the sixth. Her 91 and 94 scorecards added up to 185 for the weekend.

The fourth member of the squad was a 199 two-day score by Mari Najar.

Oakland City University turned in the best team score of 687 highlighted by tournament co-champion Emily Deguire's 158. Deguire and IU-Kokomo's Brandi Jones topped the leaderboard with 81s on Friday and 77s on Saturday.

Defiance does not have a competitive match until the beginning of April for a Saturday/Sunday trip to Bluffton's Spring Invitational at Hidden Creek Golf Club in Lima.

-JACKETS-