MARION, Iowa - Chilly weather and difficult course conditions couldn't prevent Ashford University women's golf pairing Jordan Davis of Delmar and Brittany Boon of Bloomington, Ill., from heating up the first round at the Mt. Mercy University 4-Ball Classic on Friday.
The Saints' standout upperclassmen duo tamed Hunters Ridge Golf Course to the tune of an even-par 72 to lead 24 other pairings in an eight-team field. Davis and Boon also formed the winning tandem in last year's Mt. Mercy Best Ball Classic.
The unique four-ball format takes the better individual score on each hole with each player playing their own ball. That score is then used for the cumulative team total, which determines the individual and team champions.
As a squad, the Saints featured four pairings for a score of 162 and are second only behind Div. II Truman State University (Mo.) in the team standings by just seven strokes with one round remaining.
Final-round play picks up tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m.
"The girls really enjoy this event because it's something a little bit different and it allows them to be aggressive and take a few shots they might not try in normal stroke play," AU Head Coach Josh Davis said. "For Jordan and Brittany to shoot even par on a windy day and on a tough course is remarkable. They did a great job of balancing each other out."
Davis and Boon, both First Team All-Midwest Collegiate Conference selections a year ago, hold a comfortable four-stroke cushion over current runner-up pairings from Mt. Mercy and Truman State, respectively.
Sophomore Megan Wagner of Preston and freshman Courtney Gieseman of Coal Valley, Ill., are close to breaking in the top half of the standings with a 14th-place day-one effort. They combined for a 90.
Two strokes back of Wagner and Gieseman were Felicia Scott of Waterloo and freshman Haley Knutti of Chadwick, Ill., with a 92. Rounding out the AU effort was freshmen Alexis Spitzner of Waterloo and Lauren Meredith of Evansville, Wis., carding a 106.
First Round Mt. Mercy 4-Ball Team Scores
1. Truman State (Mo.) 155
2. Ashford 162
3. Mount Mercy 165
Augustana (Ill.) "A" 165
5. Grand View 168
6. Knox (Ill.) 185
7. Augustana (Ill.) "B" 188
8. Cornell 198
Individual Standings
1. Jordan Davis/Brittany Boon (Ashford) 72
2. Laura Wilberg/Anna Kallqvist (Mount Mercy) 76
Jen Lawson/Jessica Schepker (Truman State) 76
4. Jessica Kraus/Lynn Dreisilker (Truman State) 79
5. Liz Lestmann/Jessica Tomash (Truman State) 80
