The No. 5 Washington University women’s golf team took home first place at the DePauw University Small College Classic this past weekend in Danville, Ind., besting No. 4 ranked DePauw University and No. 15 Wittenberg University, among others.

The Bears finished the first day locked in a tie with DePauw for first place with a team score of 315 but improved slightly on day two with a team score of 313 despite difficult weather conditions. It was enough to finish 13 shots ahead of a second-place tie between DePauw and Wittenberg, 628 to 641.

“We knew that it was going to be tough [to win] because DePauw is ranked pretty high,” sophomore Connie Zhou said. “So we weren’t expecting to win necessarily, but we knew it was going to be close.”

Zhou led the Bears with her best tournament of the season, shooting a strong 75 on both days. Zhou finished with a total of 150, good for second place overall and tying her career-low 36-hole score. Next best for the Bears was senior Andi Hibbert, who improved on her day one score of 80 with a second-day score of 78, good for fourth place overall.

A pair of freshmen, Xian Fang and Samantha Han, each had overall scores of 160 (78-82 and 82-78, respectively), finishing in a tie for fifth place. Rounding out the starting lineup was junior Olivia Lugar, who finished in 17th place with an 83 on day one and an 84 on day two for an overall score of 167.

Rainy, wet and cold conditions were difficult obstacles for the Bears, yet they succeeded in improving their team score while most of their competitors slumped on the second day.

“The weather was definitely the most difficult part of the weekend as a whole, but we really demonstrated our perseverance through adversity,” Hibbert said. “When you’re putting through a puddle on the first green, you know it’s going to be a tough day. The ball isn’t going to slide as far. The greens are going to be a little bit more receptive for approach shots, but things are a lot slower for putting. You have to think about every single shot.”

Freshman production has been important for the Red and Green so far this year as Fang has been the most consistent scorer on the team. Jessica Wibawa, another freshman, competed as an individual and scored a 164 (81-83), tying for 10th place. Sophomore Erin Lawrence (86-84, 170) also competed as an individual for the Bears.

“Xin [Fang] has been playing consistently well throughout the fall, and Samantha [Han] has been playing well, too,” Hibbert said. “It’s nice that we can count on them to put up strong scores for us.”