WAYNE, Neb. - Ella Matzke shot a career-best 74 (+2) during Tuesday's second round of the Wildcat Classic at the par-72 Wayne Country Club. This helped her tie for third and marked her highest career finish with a total score of 156 (+12).
She helped the Golden Bears place seventh in the team race shooting 654 (+78). Matzke started the day with three bogeys on the first five holes. After that, she shot two-under-par on her last 13 holes including birdies on holes nine and 13.
Matzke's 74 (+2) marked her lowest round of the season by five strokes. The 156 (+12) is her lowest two-round score by eight strokes. Matzke's previous lowest finish was in the season-opening Tracy Lane Memorial where she tied for 21st.
The freshman's 20 pars tied for the third most at the tournament. She shot even on par fives, tying for the second-best score of any player. Matzke was nine-over-par on par fours, tying for the seventh-best score.
Darby Barstad and Piper Hill each tied for 24th shooting 164 (+20) after each shot back-to-back rounds of 82 (+10). Hill shot seven straight pars on holes 9-15 during Tuesday's second round. She also had a birdie on hole 18, helping her shoot 38 (+2) on the back nine while shooting 44 (+8) on the front nine. Hill's three birdies tied for the seventh-most at the tournament.
Barstad shot eight straight pars from hole 12 to hole 1. She shot 39 (+3) on the back nine and 43 (+7) on the front nine. She totaled 22 pars over the two rounds, tying for the most by any golfer.
Rebecca DeLong also shot 82 (+10) on Tuesday to total a score of 170 (+26) and tie for 44th. She finished her day strong shooting one-under-par on her final six holes with a birdie on hole two. DeLong shot 38 (+2) on the front nine and 44 (+8) on the back nine.
CSP defeated Minnesota Crookston in eighth place by 10 strokes and trailed Sioux Falls (S.D.) in sixth place by five strokes. CSP shot 320 (+32) on Tuesday after shooting 334 (+46). CSP had the second-best scoring average on par threes (3.53) and fourth-best scoring average on par fives (5.44) as a team at the tournament.
Wayne State (Neb.) won the tournament on its home course totaling 634 (+58) after rounds 322 (+34) and 312 (+24). Montana State-Billings placed second shooting 636 (+20). The Yellowjackets had the best team round on Tuesday at 311 (+23). Augustana (S.D.) came in third shooting 638 (+22).
Augustana's Shannon McCormick and Wayne State's Saffire Sayre tied for first place at 154 (+10). Matzke tied for third with Abbigail Broderson of Wayne State and Pygmy Kompoj of MSU-Billings. Matzke's 74 (+2) was the lowest round of any golfer.
The Wildcat Classic concludes the regular season for the Golden Bears. CSP will next compete at the NSIC Championships at Paradise Pointe Golf Complex in Smithville, Missouri on April 25-27.
