Puch, Women's Golf finish second at NACC Championship
BRISTOL, Wis. – Concordia University Wisconsin and Nina Puch nearly had a comeback to be remembered for some time, but finished second at the NACC Championship at Bristol Oaks Golf Club on Sunday afternoon. Puch and Haley Olkiewicz each finish in the top-10 to earn All-NACC honors.
THE BASICS
Course: Bristol Oaks Golf Club (par 72, 5,836 yards)
CUW Finish: 2nd/8 (376-369-361 = 1,106)
Falcon Individual Results: Nina Puch 88-84-80 (252), Haley Olkiewicz 98-95-91 (284), Lexi Westphal 98-97-93 (288), Kayla Haen 92-101-97 (290), Megan Reddersdorf 99-93-100 (292)
Tournament: NACC Championship
HOW IT HAPPENEND
- The Falcons improved every round of the tournament and shot a 361, but unfortunately finished in second place as a team. They finished the 54-hole tournament with 1,106 strokes (376-396-361). Aurora won the event by 15 strokes with a 1,091 total (370-371-350).
- Senior Nina Puch (Des Plaines, Ill.) took home runner-up honors after firing an 80 on Sunday. She ended with a 252 total (88-84-80) and was two strokes behind medalist Ellyn Mortell (Wisconsin Lutheran) who had a 250 (88-82-80).
- Sophomore Haley Olkiewicz (Oshkosh, Wis.) shot better every round and ended in 10th place with a 284 total (98-95-91). Her efforts, along with Puch, earned each All-NACC honors.
- Senior Lexi Westphal (Brownsville, Wis.) shot a season-low during the final round with a 93 and placed 12th overall with a 288 total (98-97-93).
- Freshman Kayla Haen (Appleton, Wis.) signed for a 97 to tie for 14th with a 290 total (92-101-97).
- Junior Megan Reddersdorf (Marengo, Ill.) rounded out the Falcons lineup with a 292 total (99-93-100), which put her in 16th place.
BEYOND THE RESULTS
- The Falcons have won or finished second at the NACC Championship in five of the last six years.
- CUW was the only team to have all five golfers finish 16th or better.
- Puch ended her career with two NACC Championship medalist honors (2013, 2014) and a pair of runner-up finishes (2015, 2012). She is one of two golfers in league history to finish at least first or second in every championship during their career, the other being former CUW golfer Muriel McIntyre who was medalist four times (2008-11).
- Puch earned All-NACC honors each year of her career. As well, her 252 total is the third lowest 54-hole total in program history.
- Olkiewicz's 10th place finish was nine spots higher than during last season championship and resulted in her first all-conference honor. She was one of three freshmen to earn postseason honors.
- Westphal finished 13th or higher in each of the four NACC Championships she competed in during her career.
- Puch sank a birdie and 11 pars during Sunday's round, and started the round 1-under through six holes of play. She ended the Championship with a tournament-best-tying four birdies, to go along with 20 pars (second most). Puch ended the event 2-under on the par-4 322-yard fifth hole (two birdies, one par).
- Olkiewicz had seven pars during the final 18 holes of play and 15 throughout the tournament.
- Westphal fired her lowest score of the championship on Sunday on the outward nine (44), which included four pars. Overall, she had eight pars during the 54-hole competition.
- Haen drained her second birdie of the tournament on the par-3 sixth hole and ended with 10 pars during the event.
- Reddersdorf made four pars putts on Sunday and seven for the championship.
