Women's Golf shatters school record by 125 strokes, finishes second at 2023 OAC Championships
By Tim Glon
WEST LAFAYETTE — The Ohio Northern women's golf team shattered the school's 72-hole record by an impressive 125 strokes and finished in second place at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships on Friday-Sunday at River Greens Golf Course.
The Polar Bears (78-12 overall), who are ranked No. 27 nationally by GolfStat.com, finished with a 311-326-324-340—1301 to break the previous school record of 1426 strokes set at the 2007 NCAA III Championships.
Ohio Northern also broke the school's 54-hole record on Saturday by 15 shots with a 961 through the first three rounds of the tournament.
Individually, junior Grace Honigford (West Chester/Lakota East) broke the school's 72-hole record by 12 strokes, finishing second out of 44 golfers with a 77-79-75-82—313.
Her score was 12 strokes better than the previous mark of 325 set by Meagan Brennan at the 2007 NCAA III Championships.
She also broke her own 54-hole school record with a 77-79-75—231 after the third round on Saturday.
The two-time defending champion is now a three-time All-OAC honoree.
Freshman Marisa Alfes (Bellbrook) also earned All-Conference accolades with a fourth place finish in 76-81-81-82—320.
Sophomore Amelia Burger (Centerville) and senior Isabella Orofino (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) each earned All-OAC kudos for the second consecutive season.
Burger tied for seventh with a 78-81-81-86—326 and Orofino was 11th with an 80-85-89-90—344.
Alfes's score also surpassed Brennan's previous school record and is the lowest 72-hole effort by a freshman in ONU history.
The top 14 finishers and ties earn All-OAC honors.
Senior Torrie Smith tied for 16th with a 95-89-87-92—363 finishing just two shots out of All-OAC recognition.
No. 28 Otterbein won the team title with an OAC record 311-314-313-325—1263.
The two teams were tied with 311s after the first 18 holes Friday morning, but OU grabbed the lead over the first nine holes of the second round on Friday afternoon.
The Cardinals extended their lead to 23 strokes over the middle 27 holes on Saturday.
Otterbein's Becky Williams won Medalist honors by four shots with a conference record 80-75-76-78—309.
Mount Union finished in third place 155 shots back with a 352-354-354-358—1418.
Otterbein earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA III Championships May 9-12 at Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla.
Team Standings
1. Otterbein 311-314-313-325—1263, 2. Ohio Northern 311-326-324-340—1301, 3. Mount Union 352-354-354-358—1418, 4. Heidelberg 354-356-362-369—1441, 5. Muskingum 374-361-356-367—1458, 5. John Carroll 364-365-376-387—1492, 7. Baldwin Wallace 387-397-389—1173, 8. Marietta 388-390-401-400—1579, 9. Capital 400-401-394-397—1592.
Top 14 Individuals (All-OAC)
1. Becky Williams (Ott) 80-75-76-78—309, 2. Grace Honigford (ONU) 77-79-75-82—313, 3. Emma McGreal (Ott) 75-76-79-84—314, 4. Marisa Alfes (ONU) 76-81-81-82—320, 5. Mattie Muckelroy (MtU) 81-79-79-84—323, 6. Alexa Leubbe (Ott) 77-86-78-83—324, t7. Amelia Burger (ONU) 78-81-81-86—326, t7. Jackie Adler (Ott) 83-83-80-80—2326, 9. Rachel Hatley (Ott) 79-80-82-88—329, 10. Madison Gruber (MtU) 84-89-83-85—341 11. Isabella Orofino (ONU) 80-85-89-90—344, 12. Allison Jurkovic (Muskingum) 91-88-82-85—346, 13. Danielle Powell (Berg) 85-86-91-89—351, 14. Katelyn Hines (Muskingum) 88-90-91-92—361.
Ohio Northern Individual Results
2. Grace Honigford 77-79-75-82—313—116, 4. Marisa Alfes 76-81-81-82—320, t7. Amelia Burger 78-81-81-86—326, 11. Isabella Orofino 80-85-89-90—344, t16. Torrie Smith 95-89-87-92—363.