Shelby Wilson Leads Falcons to Third at Zippy Invitational

Tuesday, October 18

Fairlawn, Ohio

All Day

Bowling Green State University

Zippy Invitatioinal

October 18, 2011 | Women's Golf

By: by Matthew Daley, Athletic Communications Intern

FINAL RESULTS (.pdf)

AKRON, Ohio -- The Bowling Green State University women's golf team concluded a successful fall schedule on Tuesday (Oct. 18) with a third-place finish at the fourth-annual Zippy Invitational.

Playing conditions on Tuesday were significantly improved from Monday's round, as rain stayed away and wind became light. The change resulted in much better scores.

After shooting 332 on Monday, the Falcons registered a composite 306 in the final round of the tournament. The score is BGSU's best team round in the four years they have played this event.

Bowling Green's two-day total of 638 was five better than Ohio University. Cleveland State trailed by 23 shots.

All five members of the Falcons' team finished in the top half of the field. Falcon freshmen Shelby Wilson and Patricia Holt led that group.

Wilson earned her first career top-ten finish by carding a 73 on Tuesday for a 36-hole total of 154. The two-round score earned a tie for sixth place, three shots behind a group tied for third.

Holt also posted her career-best finish as she tied for 13th overall. She secured her first top 20 by shooting 161 (81-80) for the week.

Bailey Arnold ended the tournament only one shot behind Holt and tied for 16th overall. She carded a 78 on Tuesday to conclude the tournament with a 162.

Paula DiFrancesco and Amy Ruthenberg shot matching 164s and tied for 21st overall. DiFrancesco scored rounds of 86 and 78, while Ruthenberg had Tuesday's best turnaround by a Falcon as she improved her score by 10 strokes (87-77).

Playing as individuals, Kelsey Benson and Jen Blanchard shot 175 and 191, respectively.

Tournament host Akron won the team championship, while Katie Jenior (145) led five Zips in the top ten by winning tournament medalist honors.

Bowling Green ends the fall schedule with a team scoring average of 314.38, which is nearly ten strokes better than the current team record. The team posted three top-five finishes, including a runner-up spot in September, after having none in the 2010-11 season.

Part of BGSU's success has been due to the ability to rely on several different players for important contributions.

Arnold leads Falcon individuals with a 77.54 average but is closely followed by Wilson (78.54). DiFrancesco, the team's only senior, is also under 80 with a career-best average of 79.15.

Four different Falcons have notched a total of nine top-20 finishes. That total includes a tournament victory by Arnold and top-ten finishes by Wilson and DiFrancesco.

BGSU women's golf now goes on a five-month hiatus. The team's next tournament will be on March 25-26, 2012 in Hilton Head, S.C. at the Low Country Intercollegiate.