Senior Kristina Zeschin hits her drive at the Maryville Fall Classic on Sept. 3. Zeschin tied for sixth overall this weekend at the Millikin University Fall Classic, helping the Bears take second place in what has been a breakout season for the squad. (Courtesy of Wash. U. Sports Information)

September proved to be a great month for the Washington University Women’s Golf team. The Bears entered the fall season unranked and emerged with several tournament titles and a No. 8 national ranking.

“We get a lot more curious people from the other teams,” senior Margaret Manning said. “They really don’t know where we came from.”

In their final outing of the fall, the Red and Green took second place in a field of 19 teams with a 646 (323 on both days) at the Millikin University Fall Classic. Rend Lake Community College placed first with a 627. The No. 8 Bears overcame a four-stroke deficit and bested No. 7 Illinois Wesleyan University by two strokes and NAIA No. 25 Lindenwood University by four strokes.

“Wash. U. is someone to beat now,” sophomore Katie Homa said. “You can definitely tell when we go to tournaments that people view us differently than they did before.”

The tournament’s results could have been much different, as Illinois Wesleyan fielded both a Green and White squad. Combining the top IWU performers would have led to a Wash. U. third-place finish.

The Red and Green held their ground as various weather conditions affected play on the first day. A fog delay on the first day pushed the tee time back by an hour before intermittent rain, wind and even high temperatures affected shots.

“It felt like we went through the four seasons in one round,” Manning said.

Freshman Hannah Buck continued to pace Wash. U., with a score of 153 (78-75). Buck tied with Angela Gauck of Marian (Ind.) College and Jennifer Lawson of Truman State University for first but lost out in the scorecard playoff. According to Wash. U. players, officials compared the scorecards of the best players and awarded the player with the best score in the final nine holes first place. Buck finished second and turned in her eighth straight round of 80 or under.

Senior Kristina Zeschin shot a 157 (78-79) for sixth place overall, while freshman Melanie Walsh turned in a 167 (85-82) for 28th place. Rounding out the scorers for Wash. U. were Manning (89-84, 36th) and junior Kathleen Pettinato (85-94, 58th). Homa played as an individual, finishing with a 178 (90-88) for 54th place.

“When someone doesn’t necessarily play well, someone else will pick up the slack,” Homa said.

The 15th hole provided the most memorable shot of the tournament for Manning. Hit on the fairway from 174 yards away, the shot looked to be headed to a lateral hazard.

“It airmailed over the green, it hit this tree behind the green directly behind the pin, kind of runs up the tree for a second and hits back on the green,” Manning said. “It reminded me of some miracle shot.” Manning was able to get par on that hole.

“We’re all really pleased with how we did and hopefully improve on it in the spring,” Buck said.

The Bears take a break before opening the spring season at the Illinois College Spring Tourney on April 3. The focus will be on conditioning and maintaining the team chemistry as members of the team play racquetball and enjoy weekend campus events.

Once the weather warms up in March, the team returns to the course, chipping away at their ultimate goal.

“Nationals are always in our sights,” Zeschin said.