Relich leads Wildcat Golfers
AUGUSTA, Mich. — The NMU women’s golf team closed its fall campaign with an eighth-place finish at the DU Panther Invite.
The three-round tournament ran Friday, October 16, through Sunday, October 18, at the Stonehedge GC in Augusta, Michigan. The Wildcats shot an opening round +37 and second round +44 before turning in a final round of +22, the fourth-best scorecard of 13 total teams turned in on Sunday.
Stonehedge GC played as a 5,829-yard par-72 the entire weekend, and featured average scores of 83.09 on Friday, 84.47 on Saturday, and 82.33 on Sunday. The ‘Cats 3.40 average on the par-3s was T6, its 4.50 on the par-4s was fifth, and the 5.68 average on the par-5s was ninth. NMUs 13 birdies were eighth, 141 pars were T6, 85 bogeys were sixth, and 31 doubles+ were T7.
Aavra Relich led the Green and Gold after she made exceptional score improvements throughout the weekend. After opening with a round of +12, Relich turned in a round of +9 on Saturday, and closed her tournament with a +3 75 on Sunday, the sixth-best card turned in on the final day. Relich carded three birdies on the weekend and finished T29 on the field.
Hailey Bolander and Maddy Martens both finished at +26 to land T34 on the field. Both had similar weekends, shooting rounds of +7, +13, +6, and +9, +12, +5, respectively. Bolander fired home four birdies, and Martens carded three. Martens averaged 3.11 (+2) on the par 3s, a mark good for T3 on the field, and Bolander averaged 4.22 (+4) on the par 4s, good for T10.
Abbie Pietila (+29) finished just three strokes back at T40, and carded two birdies for her tournament, both coming on the par-5 18th. Payton Donnelly finished her fall with a +37, and Abby Luke turned in a three-round score of +58 as an individual.
The Wildcats are now off for the winter and will return to competition in March 2027.
