Women’s golf team breaks course record to increase lead in MIAA NCAA qualifier

MARSHALL, Mich. – Backed by the top four golfers in the player standings, the Olivet College women's golf team broke the course record en route to a first-place finish at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) NCAA Playoff round #2 today at The Medalist Golf Club in Marshall. With today's performance, the Comets now have a 32-stroke lead entering Monday's final playoff round.

Olivet's 316 team score beat second-place Saint Mary's (Ind.) College by 28 strokes. Trine (Ind.) University was third at 347, followed by Calvin College at 364. The previous Medalist course record was a 321 by Olivet during the 2011 spring season.

Senior Adrienne Plourde (Livonia/Redford Thurston) was the medalist with a four-over par 76, with a pair of 38s on the front and back nine. On each side of the course, she had a birdie, five pars and three bogeys. Senior Theresa Damico (White Lake/Lakeland) was right behind with a 78 (39-39). Overall, she collected one birdie, 10 pars and seven bogeys.

Sophomore Casey Lamp (Kalamazoo/Hackett Catholic) and senior Ashley Stark (Grass Lake) both shared third-place in the player standings with 81s. Lamp had a 40 on the front nine and a 41 on the back nine, while Stark was the reverse with a 41 on the front nine and 40 on the back nine. Sophomore Brooke Kastamo (Hartland) tied for ninth-place in the standings with an 87.  

The Comets return to The Medalist on Monday for the third playoff round, which will have a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start. The school with the lowest cumulative total will receive the league's automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division III National Championships May 13-16 at the Mission Inn Resort and El Campeon Golf Course in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.