Barnett Completes NWC Fall Classic in Women's Golf Tied for 16th Place

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

BANKS, Ore. -- Maddi Barnett (Sr., Boise, ID/Timberline HS) of Willamette University finished tied for 16th place at the 2017 Northwest Conference Fall Classic in women's golf with a 36-hole total of 163, as the tournament ended on Sunday, Oct. 15. Barnett shot a 77 in the first round and an 86 in the second round.

Phoebe Nguyen from Whitman College won the individual title by five strokes with a score of 147. Nguyen carded a 74 in the first round and a 1-over par 73 in the seocnd round. Her 73 was the low round of the tournament.

Kristen Elich of George Fox University placed second at 152 (77-75), while Shiyang Fan of Whitman was third at 153 (76-77). Tianna Brown and Iris Kawada from GFU, plus Amy Wagner of Whitworth University, tied for fourth at 155. Brown shot 74 and 81, with Kawada shooting 78 and 77, and Wagner recording 80 and 75.

Jasnelle Decker of GFU owned seventh place at 156 (76-80). Rachel Drgastin of the Bruins and Madison Pillo of Whitworth tied for eighth at 158. Drgastin shot 75-83 and Pillo shot 80-78.

Three golfers shared 10th place at 159. They were Briana Finau from Pacific University, Madison LaVergne of Pacific Lutheran University, and Annie McCutchan from Lewis & Clark College. Finau carded 78-81, while LaVergne and McCutchan each shot 79-80.

Barnett was joined at the tournament by Willamette teammates Lexi Towner (So., Chico, CA/Chico HS) and Camy Pickworth (Fr., Columbus, OH/Columbus School for Girls). Towner shot 84-95 for a total of 179. Pickworth shot 100-97 to finish at 197. Forty golfers competed in the tournament with 38 finishing all 36 holes.

"Today was an up and down day for the women," Willamette Assistant Coach Ryan Melnychuk said. "I saw some great swings, but ultimately we lost a lot of strokes in the hazards and tall grass. This tournament is still something to be proud of. It was the best I've seen them from tee to green this fall. Both Madi and Lexi had personal bests, and Camy improved immensely in regards to her short game."

George Fox topped the team standings at 615 (302-313). The 302 by the Bruins in the first round on Saturday was the low team score of the weekend. Whitman took second place at 622 (313-309), Whitworth was third at 638 (323-315), and Lewis & Clark was fourth at 698 (350-348). Pacific Lutheran placed fifth with a score of 706 (348-358), while Pacific and University of Puget Sound tied for sixth at 727. Pacific shot 354-373 and Puget Sound shot 353-374. Linfield College and Willamette did not field complete teams.

The NWC Fall Classic is one of three tournaments used to determine the overall NWC champion. The Fall Classic is worth one-fourth of the overall title and the NWC Spring Classic also is worth one-fourth. The NWC Tournament at the end of the spring season counts for one-half of the title.

Willamette has completed its fall schedule. The Bearcats will be back in action during the spring semester.