Cincinnati, Ohio – Western Carolina women's golf stormed to the top of the team leaderboard on Tuesday morning, rallying from the runner-up position, and then cruised to the tournament title at the season-opening Jennifer Duke Invitational which concluded at the par-71, 6,075-yard Losantiville Country Club. WCU overtook first-round leader Western Kentucky and posted the lowest round of the final 18 holes at 293 to win by nine strokes
 
Three Catamounts posted Top 10 individual finishes with sophomore Elizabeth Lohbauer climbing six spots into a two-way tie for fourth to pace the squad with a final-round, even-par score of 71. Redshirt sophomore Kayleigh Baker and true freshman Brie Mapanao tallied matching sixth-place finishes.
 
The stroke-play victory is the first for WCU's women's program since winning the Judaculla Cup team title back in September 2019. It's the second event championship for the Catamounts over the past two seasons after claiming the top honor at the Oyster Shuck Match Play tournament in Charleston, S.C., last March.
 
Lohbauer carded four birdies to counter four bogeys over the final round to post one of just two even-par scores on Tuesday. The Venice, Fla., product opened with three bogeys against a birdie over her first six holes before finishing the round at 2-under par. Lohbauer advanced from her 10th-place tie after 36 holes, finishing with a three-round score of 222 in posting her third career Top Five and fourth Top 10 finish.
 
Baker and Mapanao both shot 2-over par 73 on Tuesday to hold their position in the standings over the final 18 holes. Baker overcame a 3-over par start on the front nine with an eagle on the par-4 ninth to turn for home at 1-over par. The St. Augustine, Fla., native carded her sixth birdie of the event on the back nine. Mapanao closed her first collegiate tournament with 12 pars, four bogeys, and two birdies to give her four total.
 
Overall, Baker led the tournament field in par-4 scoring at 3-over par, while Lohbauer and Mapanao paced the 64-golfer field in pars, charting 37 over the 54-hole event. Both Baker and Mapanao posted the best finishes of their collegiate careers.
 
Rounding out the Catamounts scoring five were seniors Madison Isaacson in a six-way tie for 17th at 231 overall and Victoria Ladd in a tie for 23rd at 233. Ladd carded a trio of birdies – one in each round – while Isaacson had two birdies in the opener.
 
Playing unattached as an individual, sophomore Kaitlyn Wingnean finished 48th overall. She carded three birdies in the event, each coming in Monday's second round.
 
Emma McMyler of Xavier claimed the individual championship over Coastal Carolina's Sophia Carlsen after the two finished regulation tied atop the leaderboard at 7-over par, 220. Abbey Bull of Marshall was a stroke off the pace with Lohbauer in a two-way tie with Western Kentucky's Sydney Hackett for fourth, two strokes in arrears.
 
Western Carolina returns to action Sept. 26-27 at the Aggie Invitational hosted by N.C. A&T at the Bryan Park Players Course in Greensboro, N.C. The Catamounts finished as a runner-up at last year's event which was held as a match-play tournament, winning two of its three matches.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountWGolf).
 
1 – Western Carolina – 301–303–293 = 897 (+45)
T4 – Elizabeth Lohbauer – 73-77-73 = 222 (+9)
T6 – Kayleigh Baker – 76-74-73 = 223 (+10)
T6 – Brie Mapanao – 73-77-73 = 223 (+10)
T17 – Madison Isaacson – 77-79-76 = 231 (+18)
T23 – Victoria Ladd – 79-76-78 = 233 (+20)
48 – Kaitlyn Wingnean (ind.) – 79-78-88 = 245 (+32)

 

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