FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The 13th-ranked Indiana Tech women's golf team is in a good position to defend its Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament Championship and claim a bid to the NAIA National Tournament after carding a 36-hole 655 (329-326) to sit atop the leaderboard.
 
The Warriors are hosting the 54-hole tournament at the Coyote Creek Golf Club and played the first round in howling winds, and at times, sideways rain. Tech held a narrow one stroke lead after the first 18, but a strong finish to day one has the Warriors 14 strokes ahead of second place Madonna.
 
A trio of Warriors claimed the first three spots on day one with reigning WHAC medalist, Wiebke Schlender three strokes ahead of teammate Courtney Dye for first while freshman Bailey Bostler sits one stroke out of second.
 
Schlender finished the first round in second with an opening 80, but played her second round one stroke better, carding a 70 to finish day one with a 159. The sophomore from Paderborn, Germany was third in par 3 (+2) and par 4 (+9) scoring while leading the field in par 5 scoring (+4)  and ranking second with 21 total pars.
 
Dye held the lead after the opening round with a 79, but a tough second round moved her back a spot with a day one total of 162 (79-83). The Williamsburg, Mich. native was second in par 3 scoring (+1), fifth in pat 4 scoring (+12) and tied for fourth in par 5 scoring (+5). A sophomore, Dye led all scorers with 22 pars on the day.
 
Sitting in seventh after 18 was Bostler who carded an 84, but shaved five strokes in her second round for a 163 (84-79), moving up four spots to third. The freshman from Lake of the Hills, Ill. made strides with her tournament leading three birdies while also tying for fourth with 16 pars.  She is 10th in par 3 scoring (+5), second in par 4 scoring (+8) and is tied for sixth in par 5 scoring (+6).
 
Breanna Post gutted through a nagging injury to post a 36-hole total of 171, carding an opening round 86 followed by an 85 to close the day in 11th. The freshman from Orient, Ohio was second in the tournament with two birdies while also excelling on the par 4's, posting the sixth-best mark at 13-over.
 
Rachel George was the fifth golfer for the Warriors and turned in a pair of 93's for a day one total of 186. A junior from Gahanna, Ohio, George excelled on the par 3's, besting more than half the field with her 3.75 scoring average on such holes.
 
The average day on score was a 94.54 with the 391-yard, par 4 sixth hole playing the hardest at 2.10 over par. On the other end of the spectrum, the 141-yard, par 3 third hole played the easiest at .81 strokes over par.
 
The Warriors currently lead second place Madonna (330-339=669) by 14 strokes while Siena Heights (346-345) and UNOH (348-343) are currently tied for third at 691. Lawrence Tech rounded out the top five, one stroke behind third with a 692 (352-340).
 
The final round of the WHAC Championships will take place tomorrow, Apr. 21 with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. The winner will receive an automatic bid into the NAIA National Championships at Savannah Quarters Country Club in Pooler, Ga. May 12-15.
 
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Women's Golf Contact: Zachary Shore | 260.422.5561 x. 2492 | zrshore@indianatech.edu
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