The Biola Eagles men’s and women’s golf teams ended the two-day Marymount Fall invitational in disappointing fashion after strong first rounds by both teams. The men and women finished fourth out of seven teams in the tournament from Nov. 9 to Nov. 10.  

Starting Off Strong

The men’s team shot 306 and started off strong. However, they amassed a tournament total of 948, putting them behind Marymount California University, Embry-Riddle University and Arizona Christian University in the tourney. The first round had the Eagles in second place, but the second round ultimately clipped the wings of the Eagles. The top individual finisher for the men was freshman Austin Bishop, who ended with a 236 (+20) score, which placed him tied for 14th for the weekend.

The rest of the Biola men’s team finished relatively close to each other. Freshman Kyle McAbee finished just behind Bishop with a 237(+21) in 16th place overall. Senior William Longworthy rounded out the team’s top three by obtaining a 238(+22), one behind McAbee.

“Swirling wind, tough pin locations,and cold weather in the mornings really affected our game, especially mine,” McAbee said. “I left a lot of strokes out there because of short game.”

Finishing Fourth

The women’s team did not start off as strong as the men, finishing fourth after the first round with a score of 350. The rest of the tournament was rather consistent with their first round, though it was not enough to win. At the end of the weekend the women Eagles finished with a total team score of 1050(+174).

Freshman Mychaela Graf once again led the women’s team with a 255(+36), which earned her an eighth place finish.

Graf, like McAbee, believed the short game was what hurt the Eagles.

“I think a common issue for the team was short game. The holes were in difficult spots and it was hard to get a good score if you weren't close to the hole with your approach,” Graf said.

Capping Off

This eighth place finish marks Graf’s lowest of the season. Graf caps off an admirable fall season that included two first place finishes, a sixth place and now eighth place finish, always placing on the leaderboard.

To round off the top three finishers for Biola, sophomore Sarah Paravia finished behind Graf on the team with a score of 261(+42), which placed her 12th overall in the tournament. Senior Jasmine Rodriguez rounded out the top three Eagles by tying for 14th overall over the weekend, adding a score of 264(+45).

Good Team Comaraderie

“As a team, we all need to work on our mental game and mental approach to the round. However, we have a good team camaraderie, whether it is a win or loss,” McAbee said.