Posted On: Monday, April 22, 2019
Rachael Rier helped her Davenport University women’s team to a second place finish and 54-hole team scoring record at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship.
The Hanover, Ont. golfer shot rounds of 83-79 and tied for 17th in stroke play, helping the Panthers finish second and advance to the match play round.
Only four of the 10 teams in the event made it to match play.
Match play involved 5 players from each team playing separate matches and whoever had the lower score after 18 holes won a point for their team. Half points were awarded for a tie.
Davenport played Northwood Timberwolves in the semi-finals and needed at least three of players to win their match and they got four, including Rier who shot 82 and won by two strokes.
The Panthers advanced to the finals where they met Grand Valley State and lost five close matches to finish as runner-up. All five matches were decided by three strokes or less.
In the final, Rier shot 80 and lost by one shot.
The Panthers got to update their record books as well over the weekend. Senior Frida Henningsson broke the 54-hole and 72-hole individual record. She shot a 229 over 54 holes, going 79-75-75 and shot a 307 over 72 holes, going 79-75-75-78. The team also broke the 54-hole record, going 328-308-301 for a 937.
The result is a big improvement from last year for the Panthers.
“What an unbelievable weekend! We finished ninth in 2018 and second this year! Talk about improvement,” coach Melanie Loughin states in an article on the school’s website.
“It's been our goal the entire year to make it to the medal match play. It feels so good to accomplish it. I'm beyond proud of this group. Congrats to Frida on her individual finish this weekend and breaking the two scoring records. Congrats to our team on breaking the 54-hole record. I'll have a smile on my face for a while!!"
The tournament was played April 19-21 in Augusta, Michigan.
Rier is in her second year at Davenport, which is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.