Wheeling, W. Va. - The Wheeling University Women's golf team kicked off the 2025 season on their home course when they hosted day one of the Wheeling Invitational. The Cardinals hosted 10 teams from around both the conference and region at the Belmont Hills Country Club, and sat sixth after the first 18 holes of play. It was their senior leader who paced the effort on the course, finishing in the top three as they played their first round of the fall.
That senior leader was Ella Keffer, who finished third overall in the field, tying her career best shooting an 80 on the day. She began her day on hole 17, and started out strong by hitting par on the first two holes of the day. As she made the turn to the front nine, she would add a stroke to her score on hole one, before adding five straight pars to her score. She would finish the front nine sitting at +4 and looked to get back on track as she finished up the back nine. Over her final seven holes, she would hit par three times, including back-to-back pars on holes 13 and 14. She would finish the back nine with an identical +4 that she posted on the front nine, to finish with an 80 on the day. It was enough to have her finish tied for third in the event, sitting just four strokes behind Fairmont State's Mara Johnson for the program lead.
The other Cardinal returner to make her mark on the course was sophomore Brielle Milhoan, who finished 25th with a 96 for the round. Like Keffer, she would also start on the back nine and would get things going after she made the turn. She hit her first par of the day on hole three, her only par for the front nine of the event, and she came into the back nine sitting at +15. As she went to the back nine, things began to turn around as she hit two more pars over the final eight holes. She was able to end her day strong, paring on the 16th hole to finish with the 96 on the day.
The final two golfers to take the course were Abbi Siller and Mallory Bozovich, who finished 40th and 44th respectively. Siller was making her collegiate golf debut and finished with two bogeys as she shot 124 for the event. Bozovich would round things out, finishing at 134 (+62) to bring the day to an end.
The Wheeling University Women's Golf Team returns to the course for day two of the Wheeling Invitational on Friday, September 5th, with tee times beginning at 9 AM.
