Pride battle through breezy conditions at Clarke Spring Invite
Getting their full team in action after their varsity start to the 2026 spring over a week ago, the Clarke University women's golf team posted runner-up and fourth place team finishes at the Clarke Spring Invite hosted at the North Course of Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa on Monday and Tuesday.
GALENA, Ill. - Getting their full team in action after their varsity start to the 2026 spring over a week ago, the Clarke University women's golf team posted runner-up and fourth place team finishes at the Clarke Spring Invite hosted at the North Course of Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa on Monday and Tuesday.
Both teams were able to produce a better team score on Tuesday compared to their Monday totals with five total golfers out of the nine members of the Pride's two lineups also shooting better on Tuesday than they did in the first round on Monday led by the tournament's second place individual finisher of freshman Amalia Ortega.
Ortega's second place finish came by way of a 36-hole total of 168 (+24) strokes after shooting an 86 (+14) on Monday and going four shots better on Tuesday with an 82 (+10) as she produced a strong back nine, shooting just two over par in holes 10 through 18 as she started her second round on hole 11 in the shotgun start to produce three pars and a birdie in her first five holes of the day.
Three of the remaining four in the varsity lineup for CU finished in the top 10 with Rose Halle's first round 84 (+12) leading to her sixth place score of 176 (+32), Holly Elliott bounced back nicely from a first round at 91 to improve by three strokes on Tuesday for an 88 to total 179, and Sydney Minyen improved 14 strokes over her two rounds to finished in 10th at a final score of 180, then Rose McCartney posted a two-round total of 187.
Clarke's B lineup was led in scoring by Caley McKinney's 223, with Jessi Wagner shooting 226, Irene Metaxas scroing at 230 after an eight-stroke improvement, and Maya England improved by 10 strokes between Monday and Tuesday to finish at 238.
Pride women's golf will split up those two squads for their next events of the spring with the B lineup joining the men's teams at the Loras Spring Invite at The Meadows Golf Club in Asbury, Iowa on Apr. 12-13, with the varsity team slated to travel to Coralville, Iowa to compete at the Mount Mercy Spring Invitational at Brown Deer Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday Apr. 13-14.