Wheeling, W. Va. – During the 2024 spring season, the Wheeling University Women's Golf team has seen a heavy stretch of Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. After opening the spring season with an MEC Tournament two weeks ago, the team returns to MEC play on Monday as they open the Greenbrier invitational, hosted by Glenville State University. The Cardinals had two top ten finishers in their first event of the spring and look to continue that success into their second tournament of the year.

Last time out, the Cardinals competed at the University of Charleston Invitational, which was their only combined event of the season for the men and women. The event was played at the Berry Hills Country Club, with almost every MEC program in attendance. The women would play one round of action on day one, and it was a strong showing for the Cardinals. They had two golfers crack the top 10 of the event, with scored in the mid 80's, and both were looking to move up the ladder heading into day two of competition. They started the second round, but then the rains came down and after two holes play was stopped as they tried to let the storm pass. However, they would never resume the round and in the end the Cardinals would finish with the round one scores being official.

Leading the way for the Cardinals was sophomore Ella Keffer, who finished ninth in the field with a score of 85 to finish +15 on the day. The sophomore was just three strokes shy of getting into the top five of the event, and finished three strokes under her season average of 88.9. It was the second time combined between the fall and the spring season that the sophomore has finished top ten this season, and was her highest finish since she took sixth at the fall capital invitational. After rotating in and out of the team's top five during her freshman season, Keffer took the next step as a sophomore, with a secure spot in the rotation throughout the season. She looks to continue her growth on the course throughout the spring and continue to progress into next fall season.

The other top finisher for the Cardinals was junior Nicole Lincicome, who cracked the top 10 with a 10th place finish. The junior shot one stroke behind Keffer at 86 through the first round and was off to a strong start through the first two holes of round two. Lincicome is the only active Cardinal to receive All-MEC honors in her career and looks to continue leading the Cardinals down the stretch this spring. The final Cardinal golfer to compete was sophomore Marra Johnson, who took 22nd overall, shooting a 90 on the course. Johnson was one of the Cardinal',$ top golfers during the fall season, finishing in the top 10 of three different events during that season. She looks to bounce back this time out as she prepares for the MEC Spring tournament next week.

As their MEC schedule continues through the spring season, the Wheeling Women's Golf team continues to prepare for the upcoming MEC Spring Invitational. It is at this event where the All-MEC awards are handed out as the combined scores from the MEC Championship and the spring event determine the All-MEC teams. With a heavy focus on the conference throughout the spring season, it allows the women's golfer to see the competition that they will face at that spring conference event. They look to use their results from these early season events to help them get ready for the spring conferences as they try to have multiple All-MEC honorees for a third year in a row.

Course Details

The Greenbrier Invitational will be played at The Greenbrier Course in Sulpher Springs, West Virginia. The heavily wooded course is noted as a historic landmark in West Virginia and provides a challenging course for its players. It is the only resort course to welcome both the Ryder and the Solheim cup and it "puts your personal best right at your fingertips." It is a par 71 course, with five challenging par 5's, seven par 4's, and six par 3's to round out play.

The Details

Round one of the Greenbrier Invitational is scheduled for Monday, April 8th, with first round action beginning at around 9 AM. You can see a full list of live results after the round is completed follow wucardinals.com