By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
Note: The original HTML results incorrectly switched the scores for Maddi Barnett of Willamette and Madeline Rice of Linfield. The story has been corrected.
BANKS, Ore. -- Maddi Barnett (Sr., Boise, ID/Timberline HS) of Willamette University was tied for sixth place out of 39 golfers after the first round of the Northwest Conference Fall Classic in women's golf on Saturday, Oct. 14 at Quail Valley Golf Course. Lexi Towner (So., Chico, CA/Chico HS) also from Willamette, finished the first round in 20th place. The tournament will conclude with the second round on Sunday, Oct. 15.
Barnett shot a 77 during Saturday's 18 holes. She was just three strokes out of first place. Towner carded a score of 84. Also competing for the Bearcats was Camy Pickworth (Fr., Columbus, OH/Columbus School for Girls), who shot 100.
"Today was an awesome day for the Willamette women, as both Maddi and Lexi shot their low competitive rounds with a 77 and an 84. It was great to see their hard work this fall pay off, especially at a big event like this," Willamette Assistant Coach Ryan Melnychuk said. "Quail Valley is always a fun place to play a tournament. It's a place where a lot of players feel comfortable and a more aggressive style of golf can be played."
George Fox University topped the team scoreboard at 3-2. Whitman College was second at 313 and Whitworth University was third at 323. Pacific Lutheran University followed in fourth place at 348, with Lewis & Clark College in fifth at 350, University of Puget Sound in sixth at 353, and Pacific University in seventh at 354. Willamette and Linfield College did not field complete teams.
Tianna Brown of GFU and Phoebe Nguyen from Whitman were tied for first place with matching scores of 74. Rachel Drgastin from George Fox was third at 75. Two golfers, Janelle Decker of GFU and Shiyang Fan from Whitman, shared fourth place at 76. Barnett from Willamette and Kristen Elich from George Fox each owned part of sixth place at 77.
