THACKERVILLE, Okla. — Fourth-year Cooper Meyer fired an even-par 72 on Tuesday to vault into the top 20, leading the Harding women's golf team during the final round of the season-opening WinStar Invitational at WinStar Golf Club's Scissortail Course.
Harding delivered its best team round of the week on Tuesday, carding a 13-over 301. The Lady Bisons showed steady progression throughout the 54-hole event, cutting strokes in each successive round (311-309-301) to finish at 57-over 921. The final-round push propelled Harding past Angelo State (929) into seventh place in a loaded regional field.
Host and perennial national contender Dallas Baptist University claimed the team title at 8-under 856 (290-277-289), finishing 18 strokes ahead of runner-up St. Mary's (Texas) (+10). West Texas A&M and Midwestern State tied for third at 26-over 890, followed by Missouri-St. Louis in fifth (895) and Southeastern Oklahoma State in sixth (907).
Meyer put together an outstanding final round to pace the Lady Bisons. The Salado, Texas, native balanced three birdies with three bogeys to shoot an even-par 72, matching her collegiate career-best round and marking her third career round of par or better. The effort vaulted her 10 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 17th at 9-over 225 (76-77-72). Meyer tied for fourth in the 54-player field with 11 birdies across the three rounds and finished tied for fifth in par-3 scoring (even-par 3.00 average).
Second-year Alyson Thomas capped off a breakthrough tournament by carding a 2-over 74 on Tuesday, setting another collegiate career-best round for the second straight day. After entering the week with a career low of 81, Thomas trimmed strokes each day (81-75-74) to finish tied for 33rd at 14-over 230.
Second-year Vivian Volion also saved her best round for Tuesday, posting a 5-over 77 to tie for 39th at 20-over 236 (81-78-77). First-year Audrey Kuntz showed continuous improvement in her collegiate debut, following up rounds of 83 and 79 with a 6-over 78 on Tuesday to tie for 47th at 24-over 240.
Fourth-year Sydney Kincade carded an 8-over 80 in the final round to place 36th at 16-over 232 (73-79-80).
As a team, the Lady Bisons excelled on the par 3s throughout the tournament, finishing second overall with a 3.18 stroke average (+11), trailing only tournament champion DBU (+7). Harding also collected 31 total birdies over 54 holes.
Mia Hammerschmid of West Texas A&M claimed the individual medalist honors at 4-under 212 (72-70-70), edging DBU's Madison Ude (-3) and St. Mary's Taylor Wilczek (-3) by a single stroke.
Harding returns to action Sept. 14–15 at the NSU Classic, hosted by Northeastern State at Page Belcher Golf Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
