WKU women’s golf placed ninth out of 18 teams at the Lady Paladin Invitational hosted by Furman University.

The Hilltoppers played the three-day tournament over the weekend at Furman University Golf Course.

After the first day, WKU stood in 14th place at 17-over-par with a score of 305 as a team. Junior Rachel Rich had the lowest score on the team for round one with a 74.

After the second day, the Hilltoppers moved up to 11th place, seeming to find their rhythm. The team finished the second round with a 7-over score of 295.

Several players improved their play from the first round. Freshman Sydney Hackett fired a score of 69 making her second round seven strokes better than her first.

Sophomore Catie Craig carded a 74, dropping her score four strokes from her first round of the tournament. Junior Rachel Rich also showed improvement from the first round by one shot, shooting a 75.

The Hilltoppers used their momentum from the second round to continue their climb up the leaderboard on the final day. WKU finished with a team score of 290 for the third day, two shots over par. 

Their performance on day three was enough to elevate them to ninth place out of a field of 18 teams. After three rounds, the team finished at 26-over par. 

Rich placed in the top 10 overall, finishing the tournament with her best round yet. She had an outstanding final 18 holes, carding a 68. Hackett finished in 14th place overall shooting a 74 on the final day. 

Senior Sarah Arnold bettered her score from the second round by five strokes to shoot a 72 in the final round. Freshman Averi Cline also dropped her score in the final round of the tournament to card a four-over par score of 76.

The Hilltoppers will return to action on Oct. 15 in the Pat Bradley Invitational hosted by Florida International University.

Scores can be found below:

T9 Rachel Rich – 74, 75, 68 (217)

T14 Sydney Hackett – 76, 69, 74 (219)

T39 Sarah Arnold – 77, 77, 72 (226)

T66 Catie Craig – 78, 74, 78 (230)

T71 Averi Cline – 78, 78, 76 (232)

Sports reporter Molly St. Clair can be reached at [email protected].