The Logger men’s and women’s Golf teams competed in the NWC Spring Classic last weekend at the Links at Hawks Prairie in Lacey, Washington. The men finished in second place, keeping them settled in at first place in the Northwest Conference, while the women took a sixth place finish, landing them in fifth place overall.
At the end of day one, the men had a two-stroke lead, but fell nine strokes short of a strong Linfield team. Freshman Matt Kitto (Lake Oswego, Ore.) was the strongest performer for the Loggers, finishing the tournament in third place and posting scores of 76 on day one and 77 on day two for a combined score of nine strokes over par. Junior Riley Conlin (Golden Valley, Minn.) tied for sixth place in the tournament, finishing 14 over par and posting scores of 78 and 80. Freshman Derek Wilson (Bellevue, Wash.) and junior Collin Wulf (Albany, Ore.) finished off the weekend at 12th and 26th with scores of +18 and +24, respectively. Senior Greg Kirkpatrick (Longview, Wash.) finished his round tied for 22nd place with a score of +23, but he was proud of the way the team performed.
“We fought hard in very tough conditions the first day, but didn’t play our best on day two, but second place is just fine,” Kirkpatrick said, adding that the Loggers are “pleased to still be in the lead going into the conference championship and are preparing hard for the last couple weeks of the season.”
The women did not fare as well as the men, but their two seniors posted solid scores, giving them high hopes for the final tournament as well as the NWC Championship. Senior Sarah Bicker (Salt Lake City, Utah) led the Loggers last weekend with a tenth place finish, shooting an 88 and 87 and posting a +31 score on the weekend, while Natalie Nakamine (Honolulu, Hawai’i) finished tied for 18th place with a score of +38.
The Loggers have one more tournament before the conference championships; a good performance next weekend will keep them in first place going into the Northwest Conference tournament.