MW GOLF: MW hosts golf tourney

WORTHINGTON -- Joe Koepsell was running out of golf balls.

Struggling on the back nine in Thursday's college golf meet, the Minnesota West golfer was down to his final golf ball.

"The first nine was pretty good," Koepsell said. "The back nine, I had four 7s and an 11. I went in the water five times and out of bounds once. I had a couple of three-putts.

"I was running out of golf balls. I was down to one until Ron (Wood) gave me more."

Wood, the coach of both the men's and women's team, delivered a trio of balls to the freshman.

When the round was over?

"I have two left," Koepsell said.

The Bluejays and Lady Jays entertained Rochester in their only home meet of the year.

But in the wide open spaces of Prairie View Golf Links, the wind wreaked havoc.

"It was windy," MW freshman Jacob Laverman said. "It was tough to play."

Laverman led the Bluejays with a 96.

"The front was better than the back," said Laverman, who finished with a 45 on the front and 51 on the back. "I was starting to get tired and I wasn't focusing and hitting good shots."

Rochester's Brett Egland fired a 73 (38-35) to win medalist honors. Kasey Olloff was second with a 79.

The Yellowjackets fired a 312 as a team.

Koepsell carded a 103 as MW was incomplete on the men's side.

"My second shots off the tee were pretty good and my fairway hits were pretty good," Koepsell said. "My putting was terrible. Wedge game was terrible."

After shooting a 44 on the front, he struggled on the back nine.

"The wind picked up and it started raining a little bit," Koepsell said. "I just fell apart with those 7s."

On the women's side, Nyiebol Gew had a career day.

"Nyiebol Gew had her best nine and eighteen hole score," Wood said. "It bodes well for us that she is improving so fast. Both Jenn Scholtes and Meghan Westendorf have a wealth of experience and will score well as the season progresses but if Nyiebol can continue to improve we should be competitive at the state level by tournament time."

Gew had a 48 on the front and a 56 on the back for a 104.

Scholtes had a 102 after splits of 50-52, while Westendorf finished with a 103 (52-51).

As a team, the Lady Jays carded a 309.

Rochester, meanwhile, was led by Corbin Carlson, who finished with an 83. The Yellowjackets had a team score of 291.

"The day started with a light wind and quickly moved to a gale force wind by the back nine," Wood said. "I think that the wind took its toll on the energy level of the girls on both sides. But the most significant reason we didn't win the match was the great round of golf by Corbin Carlson. Given the conditions the 83 was great, but more impressive was the 40 on the back nine at the height of the wind force."