After two days of competitive golf, the Iowa women’s team triumphed a first-place finish in the Nashville Invitational over the weekend, firing a 29-over team score — while the men’s team did not fare as well, finishing 14th of 15 in the Hootie Classic in South Carolina at five-over.
The Iowa women’ss and mens’ golf team’s each traveled east to of the Mississippi River to compete in their own respected collegiate tournaments through Tuesday with the women’s team competing in Old Hickory, Tennessee, and the men’s team competing in Charleston, South Carolina.
For the women’s team, a duo of Hawkeye second-years led the way to end day one in first place with Ximena Benites firing an impressive even par 72-72 and Maura Peters close behind with a three-over day shooting 73-74, respectively.
Collectively, Iowa finished day one with a total team score of +16.
With two players in the top-10 and a current first-place lead, the Hawkeye women’s team needed to finish day two with a strong performance to outlast the competition. There, first-year Lily Huether paved the way for Hawkeye victory, shooting a one-over par 73. Peters was close behind with a 74, while Benites shot a 75. Fourth-year Paula Miranda came in with the fourth score for the Hawkeyes with a 79, to lead Iowa to a first-place finish.
That win came two strokes ahead of Washington State in second. Benites tied for fourth, and Peters tied for seventh.
While the women’s team experienced a glorious top-place finish, the same could not be said for the men’s team.
Day one of the Hootie Classic in Charleston, South Carolina, for the men’s team was filled with four scores hovering around even par, which — with this competition — was not enough to propel ahead.
Second-year Hawkeye Maxwell Tjoa led the way, rallying a 70-71 to finish day one with a total score of three-deep. Third-year Gage Messingham fired a 72-67, a Hawkeye low in his second round of day one. Fourth-year Ian Meyer came as the third score with a 73-72 to put Hawkeye golf in 11th place out of 15 teams after one. While 11th is surely not where the Hawkeyes wanted to be in team standings, they still concluded day one with a total team score of one-under in a heated field.
With plenty of room for improvement coming into day two of the tournament, the men’s team came in with a “nothing-to-lose” mindset.
Tjoa came out strong, shooting an impressive 67 for five-under on the day. Josh Lundmark came in with a respectable round of 72 while Meyer came in right behind the fellow Hawkeye with a 73. Messignham came in with the final score for Iowa with a 75. The men’s team finished the tournament with a 14th place team finish, totaling a team score of five-over or 790 total strokes — well behind South Carolina at 30-deep.
Up next
The Iowa women’s team will travel to Dallas, Texas, for the 2025 Veritex Bank Challenge in a two-day tournament from April 7-8. The Iowa men’s team will have an opportunity to bounce back at the Calusa Cup in Naples, Florida, April 6-8.