Both the Illinois Wesleyan men’s and women’s golf teams are ranked second place after this week’s tournaments. September 10-11 saw the men’s Carthage Fall Invitational in West Dundee, IL and September 11-12 was the women’s Wartburg Fall Invitational in Waverly, IA. The Titans also saw senior Jimmy Morton and sophomore Emma Thorman awarded “CCIW Co-Golfer of the Week.”
The Illinois Wesleyan men’s golf team finished out the Carthage Fall Invitational at Royal Oaks Golf Club (West Dundee, IL) in second place on September 11. With a final score of 582 strokes for both games, the Titans finished right behind the Aurora Spartans, who etched out first place with 580. Joining the top-three finalists were the Calvin University Knights at 584 strokes.
“It was a decent start to the season for us. We lost several top players to graduation and are quickly filling the void. Although we didn’t play our best, we’ll be a lot better next May than we are right now once guys get more experience in the lineup,” head men’s golf coach Jim Ott said.
Three members of the men’s team finished in the Top Ten individual results. Morton slammed out an overall 143 and finished one over par in the tournament, allowing him to tie for third place. Senior Will Nummy and junior Keegan Adamson both ended the tournament at three-over and tied for seventh place individually. The individual first place position went to Calvin, whose top golfer finished five under par with a final stroke count of 137.
Morton’s hard-hitting scores did not go unnoticed by the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). For the second time since his debut with the Titans, Morton was named a “CCIW Co-Golfer of the Week” beside Millikin senior Jack Patterson.
Alongside Morton, Nummy and Adamson, senior Carl Chistiansen also ended in the Top 20 individually with 147 strokes at five-over, giving him 18th place.
“It takes a different level of mental focus for the entire 18 holes that our new guys need to learn and gain experience with. Once we figure that out, we’ll be hard to beat,” Ott continued.
Also this week, the Illinois Wesleyan women’s golf team took second after competing in the Wartburg Fall Invitational at Prairie Links Golf Club (Waverly, IA) on September 11-12. With a two-day score of 597 strokes, the Titans finished right behind the St. Catherine University Wildcats (586). The Carthage College Firebirds rounded out the Top Three with a two-game total of 599.
Leading the women’s team were sophomores Thorman and Lexi Onsrud, who closed out the tournament with individual ties for third and fifth place rankings respectively. In the second game, Thorman swung an incredible 70 strokes at two under par that ties her for the Illinois Wesleyan women’s record. Combined with her 74-stroke first game, Thorman’s tournament total of 144 also broke the IWU record-low of 146 previously set by Olivia Ruff in 2017. Onsrud turned in only a few strokes behind at 146.
Thorman’s impressive game was also noticed by the CCIW, who handed her her first weekly award of her collegiate career by naming her another one of the “CCIW Co-Golfers of the Week.” Thorman is the first IWU women’s golfer to receive this honor since 2019. Carthage senior Kate Munro was celebrated alongside her.
Freshman Macy Ludwig also finished in the Top 20 for women, hitting an overall 152 and tying for 18th at her first tournament with the Titans.
The men’s team will travel to Howey-in-the-Hills, FL September 19-20 to compete in the NCAA Division III Preview. The women will return to action September 17-18 when they host the Illinois Wesleyan Fall Classic at Ironwood Golf Course in Normal, IL.