Bradley women’s golf didn’t have to travel far to have their best finish of the season at the annual Coyote Creek Classic, placing third overall in the nine-team tournament.
The two-day event in nearby Bartonville was the team’s first and only home invitational of the season. Having a lot of experience with the course seemed to give the players a competitive advantage over the other schools.
“I think having the home course advantage helps,” head coach Halley Morell said. “We knew how to play certain holes that a lot of the other teams didn’t. Managing our home course overall was good.”
The Braves were led by their two most seasoned players finishing in the top 10 followed by their younger golfers having promising performances.
Senior Mara Flaherty led the way for the team, tying for second place. After a disappointing opening round score of nine-over 81, Flaherty greatly improved in rounds two and three. In both rounds she scored a 72, which she attributed to being calmer after the first 18 holes.
“In a 36-hole day, there is a lot of golf,” Flaherty said. “After the first 18 holes on my home course, I was a little mad. I’ve seen myself play really well at that golf course, and so I started to take more deep breaths. I focused a lot more on keeping a steady tempo and staying patient with every shot.”
Following just three shots behind Flaherty was fifth-year senior Megan Welch. Welch shot consistently in all three rounds, finishing 8th overall with a total score of 230 and boasting her first top-10 finish of the fall season.
Freshman Allison Pacocha continued her promising rookie season, placing 12th with a three-round score of 233. Sophomore Maria Perakis came in fourth for the Braves with a three-round score of 242, good enough for 28th overall.
Morell has been impressed with her young golfers so far this season and has seen a lot of progression in their games.
“Allison has come in and been a great addition as a freshman; she really keeps the ball in play and she hits very well,” Morell said. “Maria is young, [and] she’s been in the lineup a lot. Her game has really improved. She had a great last year, but her putting and chipping have gotten a lot better this fall.”
Rounding out the Braves’ top five, junior Grace Aromando placed 46th with a three-round total of 250.
With one tournament left before the fall season concludes, Morell and her team look forward to improving as a group before the upcoming spring season.
”We can just improve on a couple of little things here and there, taking it into the spring and learning this fall and really diving in and working on the parts of our game that we need to work on,” Morell said. “The fact that we know we’re not playing to our peak potential and we’re still beating all the conference schools is pretty exciting.”
The Braves will end their fall season at the Ozarks National Invitational from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2.
