PHOENIX, Ariz. –
Marissa Louder capped her Lewis-Clark State golf career in the most dramatic of fashions Wednesday afternoon with an extra-hole victory in the Frontier Conference Championship Tournament at Papago Golf Course.
Trailing by one stroke heading into the final round, Louder caught Rocky Mountain's Eryn Ellis to tie and force a playoff after the regulation 54 holes. As the players headed to the 18
th hole, Louder said she battled to quell her nerves.
"I was shaking," said Louder, who had a par, bogey and double bogey in her previous three trips to the 18
th hole. Still, she and coach
Kyla Lien agreed on an aggressive approach to the 407-yard, par-4 dogleg right finishing hole.
"She had a really good drive," Lien said. "Probably one of the best she had all tournament."
While Louder's perfectly placed drive left her with 100 yards to the green, Ellis was behind a tree and needed to punch out and then battled through some brushy trees before reaching the green in three. Meantime, Louder was facing an uphill 33-foot putt – just what she's been practicing.
"I was trying to keep my hands steady," said Louder, who putted to within a foot and needed just more than a tap-in to secure the title. "I told myself I could shake all I wanted if I made the putt."
Louder's round led the Warriors to their best team total of the tournament. They combined for a 325 and a 54-hole total 996 to finish second to Rocky Mountain (968). The Warrior men, with a team of newcomers, finished third after closing with a 310. Freshman
Carlos Davila led the way with his tie for eighth as LC totaled 931 for the tournament. Rocky Mountain won with a 903. Montana Tech was second at 911.
Lien said a slow start to the tournament bogged down the Warrior women for the remainder of the event.
"Today, we played more like we should have," she said. "I really do think that first round set us back a way. I didn't feel like we ever gained any momentum."
The men's team's struggles were at the outset of each round, although they settled in to finish strong each day.
"They had another slow start," she said, "but I'm proud of the group. They competed every day."
Scoring
Women
Team: Rocky Mountain 324-319-325–968; Lewis-Clark State 341-330-325–996; Montana Tech 373-357-363–1093; Carroll College 381-370-349–1100; Providence 376-369-366–1111; Montana State Northern 419-390-392–1201.
LC individuals: 1.
Marissa Louder 78-76-78–232; 6.
Madilyn Brown 86-85-78–249; 8.
Megan Gibson 91-82-83–256; T9.
Lauren Hamm 88-87-86–261; 12.
Natalie Gonzales 89-90-86–265.
Men
Team: Rocky Mountain 302-307-294–903; Montana Tech 302-309-300–911; Lewis-Clark State 308-313-310–931; Providence 314-311-313–938; Carroll College 326-314-316–956; Montana State Northern 344-341-331–1016.
LC individuals: T8.
Carlos Davila 74-79-78–231; 12.
Zach Rawls 77-79-77–233; T14.
Devon Caruso 75-81-79–235; T17.
Justin Cox 86-76-76–238; 21.
Caleb Kessler 82-79-82–243.
