The Washington University women’s golf team posted its worst scores to date at the inaugural Triton and Bear Invitational, co-hosted by Wash. U. and the University of Missouri-St. Louis at the Gateway National Golf Club.

Sophomore Kathleen Pettinato led the Lady Bears with the low round of 83 and lowest two-day score of 173 while junior captain Kristina Zeschin played most consistently,

posting two 87s to finish at 174. Juniors Elizabeth Pfohl and Snow Powers rounded out the scoring for the Bears to finish with a team total of 703 (344-359), corresponding to a score of +135, resulting in an 11th place finish in the 13-team field. Juniors Tegan Bukowski, Danielle Prague and sophomore Caroline Larose also competed in the tournament.

Division II University of Southern Indiana led the 13-team field, finishing at +41, with fellow Division II institutions Northern Kentucky University and Lewis University finishing second and third at +45 and +74, respectively.

“Considering this is one of our first tournaments, we definitely held our own against them,” Prague said. Wash. U. was the only Division III school to compete in the event.

“It’s kind of intimidating playing against all those Division II schools,” Pettinato said. “Personally, I really like it because we get to see what play is like at the next level.”

The weather certainly had an adverse affect on playing conditions. According to several golfers, scattered showers softened greens well past optimal playing conditions and the wind also contributed to higher scoring.

“It makes golf a lot more challenging,” Zeschin said. “It changes the course conditions really quickly.”

The par-3 seventh became an especially difficult hole due to the weather. “I saw a lot of girls make good shots and a lot of girls struggle,” Pettinato said. “We all had to come up with our own way of attacking that hole and I was proud of my team.”

Though the average score for Wash. U. was in the low 90s, the team still gained valuable experience in its third-ever tournament.

“We hung in there pretty well,” Zeschin said. The inclement weather did not adversely affect Wash. U. scores as much as it affected other schools. In the entire field, the low individual score was only higher by one stroke Tuesday, but the low team total was 10 strokes above Monday’s round.

“[Zeschin] was playing pretty well throughout the tournament,” Pettinato said. “Her 87 on Tuesday was a strong round.”

Pfohl posted an 89 in both her rounds.

“She’s consistently gotten better,” Prague said. “You can count on her to score well and be there for the team.”

According to Prague and Pettinato, the Red and Green will be looking to work on several things before their next tournament, including their short game, course management and mental game.

“We are all trying to work on our consistency,” Zeschin said. “We’ve been constantly improving.”

The Bears will be looking to improve at the Maryville Fall Invitational, which is scheduled for Oct. 12-13 at the Aberdeen Golf Club in Eureka, Mo.