Women’s golf team leads MIAA fall finale tournament

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – After the first round of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Fall Finale Tournament, the Olivet College women's golf team sits in first-place. Tomorrow's second round at the Bedford Valley Country Club begins with a 10 a.m. shotgun start.

In today's round, Olivet carded a 326 team score, which is eight strokes better than second-place Trine (Ind.) University. Saint Mary's (Ind.) College is third at 338, while Calvin College is fourth at 341. Hope College is a distant fifth at 363, followed by Alma College, 364; Adrian College, 370; Albion College, 372; and Kalamazoo College, 398.

Olivet has three players in the top eight of the player standings. Senior Adrienne Plourde (Livonia/Redford Thurston) is in second-place with a three-over-par 75. Her round included three birdies, nine pars and six bogies. Sophomore Casey Lamp (Kalamazoo/Hackett Catholic) shot a season-best and is in fourth-place with a 79, with 12 pars. Senior Theresa Damico (White Lake/Lakeland) is eighth with an 82.

Senior Ashley Stark (Grass Lake) had a 45 on the front and back nines for a 90. Sophomore Brooke Kastamo (Howell/Hartland) was one stroke behind with a 91.

Freshman Allyson Schultz (Traverse City/Central) played as an individual scorer and finished with a life-time best score of 86 strokes. Freshman Laura Bacso (Trenton) tied her season-best with an 88. Sophomore Kirstin Langer (Battle Creek/Pennfield) posted a 91.

Entering tomorrow's final round, the Comets hold a 64-stroke lead over Saint Mary's, 1620-1684. Calvin is third at 1726, while Trine moved into fourth-place at 1749. The top four schools will compete in a 54-hole playoff in the spring to determine the league's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA DIII National Championships.