The Fighting Scots women’s golf team made history last week, as they became the first team in the program’s history to claim four tournament victories within a single season. On Monday, Oct. 16, the Scots capped off a historic run as they dominated their archrivals at home at the Wittenberg Fall Classic. Leading up to this historic victory, the team found much success with numerous strong finishes and an additional three first-place victories in separate tournaments. Grace Lindgren ’24 described the season as being “more successful than ever before” and attributed the team’s success to “our drive and dedication during practices and the way we work together as a team.”
The season kicked off on Sept. 2 at the Lynn Schweizer Invitational in Granville, Ohio, which saw steep and plentiful competition that included eight NCAA Division III championship qualifiers. Despite this packed course, Wooster banded together and delivered a solid performance that netted them 12th overall. This result left the team hungry for victory as an aura of competition arose that Drew Patterson ’24 described as “a competitive nature that made everyone work harder and ready to win.” This sentiment was followed up by Lindgren, who described the season’s beginning as “a little rough with some steep competition, but [we] quickly put [it] back together for the rest of the season.”
Following this initial tournament, the team came together under a unified drive for victory as they laid siege at the Mount Union Fall Invitational just a week later and netted their first of many first-place finishes for the season and the 13th tournament title in the program’s history. The team’s upperclassmen all delivered excellent performances that were further bolstered by the efforts of first-year athletes, Morgan Erdmann ’27 and Abby Haywood ’27, who consistently delivered strong results throughout the season. Haywood described the season as “an amazing experience for a freshman like me.” These compelling first-year performances yielded recognition from Lindgren who noted, “the team has brought in some strong first-year talent which has helped immensely when calculating our team score.”
Wooster once again found success at the Westfield Invitational in Westfield Center, Ohio as the Scots dominated the fierce competition. This tournament yielded many strong performances from the Scots, with Erdmann netting an individual third-place finish with a score of 161, closely followed by a 165 from Melissa Burtscher ’24 that placed her fourth and Haywood’s impressive sixth-place finish with a score of 174. The combined efforts of the team would see Wooster victorious for the second week in a row as the Scots took home their second win of the season.
This performance was followed up with a strong showing at Wooster’s Eva Shorb Weiskopf Invitational that saw the team fall just short of rivals Wittenberg in a nail-biting second-place finish. Shortly after, the Scots participated in the two-day John Carroll Invitational, in which Wooster once again came out on top in spite of rough conditions. “The biggest obstacle we had was the weather,” stated Haywood, “but we still all came together and did our best.” Patterson described the victory as “pretty amazing,” adding that, “the weather on the first day was rainy and cold and the second day had crazy wind but my teammates were still able to come through on top.” The win at John Caroll marked Wooster’s third victory of the season and tied the program record for most wins within a single season.
On Monday, Oct. 16, Wooster competed in the Wittenberg Fall Classic as they sought vengeance against Wittenberg for their matchup two weeks prior. Determined to complete the fall season with a bang, the team banded together and delivered a number of highlight performances. Ally Siewert ’25 led the Scots with a remarkable score of 156, the second best of the tournament. This score was closely followed by Lindgren who grabbed the fourth best score with a tally of 159. Next up was Burtscher’s top five score of 150, who was followed by Erdmann and Haywood who scored 164 and 169 respectively. At the day’s end, the Scots came out on top, outscoring Wittenberg by nine and making history as the program’s first team to win four tournaments in a single season.
With an extremely successful fall season under their belt, many players expressed a satisfactory and competitive sentiment. As Burtscher stated, “we have achieved a lot, but we have yet to achieve our full potential. I am proud of how we have performed this fall and have no doubt that this team can be even better come the spring.” This assertive statement was echoed by Lindgren, who exclaimed, “I feel like we have grown together as a team this season and I am proud of our success thus far. I am looking forward to what we can accomplish in the spring season, especially at the NCAC conference championships.”
The Fighting Scots will continue their campaign throughout their spring season next semester. Congratulations on a successful season!
