The Whitman men’s and women’s golf teams are both returned Sunday from Crosswater Golf course in Sunriver, Oregon, where they each competed in the NWC championships. The Men played well the first day, but stepped up their game considerably and competed very strongly the second day. They ended up placing eighth. The women competed strongly both days, and earned themselves a second place finish.

The teams faced a myriad of weather conditions, including rain, wind, and even snow.

Men’s team Senior Captain Daniel Hoffman weighed in about his team’s performance. “We had a pretty consistent showing at Crosswater,” he said. “Our team played well the second day, ending the season on a nice note.”

Hoffman finished first on Whitman’s roster, with a five-over par on the second day to finish with a combined 157, good for 24^th place at the tournament. Despite his successful play, he is most excited about the play of his teammates. First-year Carl Felstiner and Sophomore Mario Santos-Davidson were each able to have great tournaments. “I’m especially proud of Carl and Mario for their showing”, said Hoffman. “Carl made 14 pars [on Sunday], which shows how strong his mental game has grown since the beginning of they year. [And] Mario is the ultimate competitor. He’s great at setting goals and attacking them relentlessly.”

Jackson Clough and Will Selman also competed fiercely and marked improved scores on the second day.

According to Felstiner, “on the second day [of the tournament], the team had one of our best rounds of the season, and we were happy with our play.”

The women, despite not being able to de-throne national powerhouse George Fox University (Statistically number one in the country for DIII Women, according to Golfstat.com), were able to play some of their best golf all season. The top four finishers from each team are scored, and Whitman had all four scoring team members place in the top ten overall, with first-year Shiyang Fan finishing third overall with a score of +3.

“Even though we didn’t end up winning the NWC conference tournament, it was a great all around tournament for us. Our team shot a 299 on Sunday, which is only the third time this spring we have broken 300,” said Alyssa Maine, a senior and captain. Maine and her teammate, Junior Lou Points, each shot 25 pars over the course of the weekend – a truly consistent and impressive stat. Said Maine, “This has been such an amazing spring season with my team, and I am proud of everyone.”

The women’s team had three players earn NWC first-team honors (Fan and Maine, as well as Sophomore Phoebe Nguyen) and one earn second-team honors (Points).

According to Fan, “we played really well [this weekend], and we are so proud of how we grind out there on the course. We are all so excited for how we finished this season. Overall it’s been a great season for me and the team, and we really hope we can get an at-large bid to nationals!”

The women find out on May 2^nd whether or not they are going to participate in nationals this year. Let’s hope they make it, as it certainly looks deserved.