Justin Wulf

The women’s golf team tied for eighth at the Payne Stewart Memorial – breaking the school record for lowest 54-hole team by four strokes with a 941 total.

“They responded very well from their play last week,” head coach Jared Baszler said. “It’s a great accomplishment for them and hopefully a testament for what’s to come.”

The Jacks tied with Oklahoma City University.

Junior Sydney Sturdevant notched a top-10 finish, shooting rounds of 81, 73 and 75 to tie for ninth.

“Anytime you can have someone finish in the top 10, it’s an accomplishment,” Baszler said. “You need (top-10s and top-15s) to balance out the team score. If we can have two or three girls in the 70s, that’s going to help our team score tremendously.”

After rain postponed play on Monday, the Jacks surged on Tuesday with a 311 second round and a 312 in the third.

“Their second and third round scores are what I feel they’re capable of,” Baszler said. “I think we’ve got the talent on the girls’ side to do that.”

Sophomore Rebecca Swords finished five strokes back of Sturdevant with a 234 – tying Swords for 25th. Freshman Morgan Fitts posted a three-round total of 236 that Baszler described as “solid.”

“She came out of the gates and shot a 75, then put up a couple decent rounds. I was happy with the way she played.” Baszler added.

Sophomore Brittany Hanten fought off a first-round 84 and shot back-to-back 79s to tie for 45th place.Junior Whitney Schrader finished 72nd with a 255 total.

Besides the new record, Baszler was pleased the team found success in a field similar to last week’s and against UMKC – the only conference school in the tournament.

The Jacks return to action on Oct. 9 at the Xavier International at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla.