Maryville golfers make headlines over weekend
ST. LOUIS — Maryville University鈥檚 golf teams had quite a productive stretch during the weekend of Oct. 29-31.
Both the men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 squads competed in the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational Tournament in Owensboro, Kentucky over the weekend, and they put together some very strong performances.
On the first day of the tournament, Brad Karpick, a senior from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, led the way for Maryville and shot the Saints into fourth place out of 12 teams total in the first round. Karpick himself tied for eighth place individually and was at one-over par 73 on Saturday.
Karpick continued his success one day later. He once again led the way for Maryville on the final day of the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational, finishing in fifth place individually with rounds of 73 and 74. That propelled the Saints to a third-place finish in the tournament overall, which bumped them up a spot from the previous round the day before.
On the women鈥檚 side, things ran smoothly as well. The Saints opened the tournament with a total team score of 329, which got them into second place overall, just six shots behind the Bearcats of McKendree University, who had a total team score of 323.
Ivy Lai, a freshman from Chu-Pei, Taiwan, set the pace for the women and led the way, shooting a 79 in the first round of the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational. That put her one behind the co-leaders, Madison DeRousse of Illinois Springfield University and Paige Hamel from McKendree University.
But Lai was far from through. She continued her dominance on Sunday in the final round of the tournament, shooting a 76 on the day and bringing her score to a total of 155, which in turn led Lai to clinch medalist honors. Her standout performance also guided the Saints to the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational title, as the Maryville women rallied from a six-shot deficit to win, knocking off McKendree, who led for most of the tournament. The Saints as a whole shot a 311 in the second round, bringing their total score from the tournament up to 640.
Both Lai and Karpick delivered standout performances in the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational and guided their teams to a strong finish in the tournament. Lai earning medalist honors is just another exciting accomplishment for Maryville鈥檚 golf squads, especially doing so in just her freshman year. If Lai can replicate her success in future tournaments, then she has a bright future ahead of her.
Karpick only continues to add to his collegiate golf legacy. And more is sure to come as he grinds through his final season on the Maryville men鈥檚 golf team.
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