Alex girls' golf: Season low leads Cardinals to win

• Iverson

Alexandria's Shelby Iverson teed of in the Cardinals' home invite earlier this season. Iverson finished 36th at the Willmar Invite on Monday. (Echo Press photo by Eric Morken)

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The Cardinal girls’ golf team shot a season low 333 on its way to a Central Lakes Conference win at the Willmar Invite on Monday.

Alexandria took advantage of the near perfect weather conditions to place all four scorers in the top seven. Brynn Novotny posted the best round of her high school career with a 78 that earned her medalist honors. She shot a 37 on the back to close things out in style.

“Brynn played a solid round of golf, hitting 10 of 18 greens in regulation and 10 of 15 fairways off the tee,” head coach Tim Zupfer said. “Her putting was pretty good but really came through for her on her last three holes. It was fun to see her play well today.”

Natalie Amundson was not far behind her teammates. The freshman finished third after carding an 83. She overcame five three-putts by finishing with two birdies on the back nine after shooting 43 on the front.

Amanda Bigger and Caroline Roers each shot an 86 and finished tied for sixth to round out the Cardinals’ scoring.

“Amanda and Caroline had opportunities to go even lower,” Zupfer said. “Each of them finished their rounds six over the last four holes. Caroline had four penalty shots for two shots hit out of bounds, and Amanda suffered a lost ball after hitting a tree. Amanda also had trouble off the tee, as she lost a number of her tee shots to the right.”

Alexandria’s 333 total gave the Cardinals a 13-shot margin of victory over St. Cloud Tech’s 346. St. Cloud Apollo was third at 361, while Rocori rounded out the top four with a 367.

“I was pleased with our team score today,” Zupfer said. “I also felt pretty good about our course management. We had a chance to go even lower today. Some of the girls were disappointed with their scores, which proves we still have room to improve. Most importantly, the girls are determined to do just that.”

WILLMAR INVITE

TEAM SCORES – 1. Alexandria – 333; 2. Tech – 346; 3. Apollo – 361; 4. Rocori – 367; 5. Brainerd – 376; 6. Willmar – 377; 7. Sartell – 383; 8. Fergus Falls – 391; 9. Sauk Rapids – 524

ALEXANDRIA SCORES – Novotny – first place, 41, 37 – 78; Amundson – third place, 43, 40 – 83; Bigger – T-sixth place, 41, 45 – 86; Roers – T-sixth place, 45, 41 – 86; Emily Thul – 16th place, 45, 46 – 91; Shelby Iverson – 36th place, 49, 51 – 100

CLS STANDINGS (After four meets) – 1. Alexandria – 35; 2. Tech – 31.5; 3. Apollo – 29.5; 4. Rocori – 24; 5. Brainerd – 20; 6. Willmar – 14; 7. Sartell – 11; 8. Fergus Falls – 11; 9. Sauk Rapids – 4

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, cardinals, golf