MOUNT PLEASANT – The Iowa Wesleyan College women’s golf team has the honor of kicking off the fall sports season for the college, as the team opens its season Friday in the Mount Mercy College Invitational at Hunters Ridge Golf Course in Marion.
The Tigers return to the site where last year’s team began its season by finishing seventh of eight teams in the same tournament. IWC went on to finish fifth of seven teams at the Midwest Collegiate Conference championships, and only two golfers remain from last year’s team.
Senior Melissa Bruegge (Ainsworth, Iowa) was IWC’s lone representative on the all-conference team last year and was named Honorable Mention All-MCC. Bruegge and Gabby Combs (So.-Macomb, Ill.) are the only two returnees for Head Coach Ted Peetz and are joined by a senior and a pair of freshmen.
Senior Ashlee Winner (Rushville, Ill.) is taking up the sport for the first time at Wesleyan and is also a member of the Tiger softball team. Freshmen joining the team are Stevie Schrier (Columbus Junction, Iowa) and Alyssa McClain (Belleville, Ill.).
“I have a fairly young team this year with three out of the five players having no college golf experience,” Peetz said. “However, I think the girls are really trying their best and we should continue to improve each and every day.”
The IWC men will also open up their season after the holiday weekend, playing in the Loras Invitational in East Dubuque, Ill. on Tuesday.
For the Tiger men, the goal is clear. IWC knocked loudly on the door to a conference championship last year, but to finally break through the team no doubt will have to dethrone perennial conference power St. Ambrose University.
IWC lost its senior leader from last year when Jordan Crampton graduated in the spring. However, Peetz’s team returns the rest of the team intact and adds more strength with two new recruits coming in. Senior Adam Lindsay (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) was second individually in the MCC meet in the spring and made the all-conference team last year. He should be right near the top of the conference individually again, but he is hardly the only threat for the Tigers.
Adam Moyers (Jr.-Burlington, Iowa) added four top 10s of his own last year, while Emery McGraw (So.-Loveland, Colo.) posted the best scoring average on the team in the spring and had three top 10 finishes. Adam Saych (So.-London, England) joined the team for the spring and also added two top 10s. Sophomore Jeff Zieber (Cameron, Mo.) also returns and will be joined by freshmen Mark Cleary (London, England) and Nick Juskewicz (Fairfield, Iowa).
“We return a pretty solid core of players and I am looking for our two new freshman to contribute,” Peetz said. “The guys have a real sense of purpose at practice and I think we will have success if we can keep that focus throughout the season.”
Both IWC teams will host home tourneys this fall. The Tiger women will host the IWC Invitational Sept. 19 at the Muscatine Municipal Golf Course in Muscatine, while the Wesleyan men will host the Fun City Classic Sept. 22-23 at Spirit Hollow Golf Course in Burlington.
For more information regarding the IWC golf programs or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
