Priebe leads the Titans in her final collegiate tournament

Neal Hogden, Managing Editor

The UW Oshkosh women’s golf team traveled to Beloit where the women took fifth at the UW-Whitewater Spring Fling last weekend.

UWO senior Kayla Priebe led the Titans with a seventh-place finish, eight shots off the lead.

Priebe finished the first day of the tournament tied for ninth place with a round of 81 and came back the next day to post the fifth-best score in the tournament with a 77.

Priebe said playing in her last collegiate meet was tough, but it allows her to look back on all the good memories she has made with the team.

“Playing in my final collegiate match was a very bittersweet moment,” Priebe said. “I have created so many good memories with this program over the last four years as a Titan, from traveling to Texas for nationals my freshman year to all the practices and tournaments since then.”

Priebe reflected on the memories that made her career so remarkable.

“The golf team has been like a second family to me since I first arrived on campus in August 2015,” Priebe said. “I am so thankful for the support and love I have received from my coaches and teammates, both on the course and in my academic and personal life.”

Head coach Liza Ruetten said Priebe has set an extremely high standard for the golfers that follow.

“Kayla has been a leader on and off the course for her entire career,” Ruetten said. “She is the epitome of the phrase ‘student-athlete.’ Her steady focus and commitment to excellence shines through in practice, in tournaments and in the classroom, as she has maintained a 4.0 GPA while competing against some of the best players in the nation over the past four years.”

UWO also had junior Hannah Braun place in the top 20 as she used a 78 on the second day of the tournament to propel herself into 18th place. After a rough first round, Braun bounced back with better weather conditions on the second day of the tournament.

Other Titan finishers were freshmen Margherite Pettenuzzo in 33rd and Erika Priebe in 35th, and juniors Dianna Scheibe and Hanna Rebholz in 41st and 47th place, respectively.

The Titans will travel to Rock Island, Illinois to participate in the Augustana College Viking Invitational on Saturday and Sunday.

Ruetten said the last event of the year is a chance for golfers who didn’t participate in all of the tournaments to get out on the course for the final time this year.

“Our last invite of the year will be a chance for some of our developing players to travel and compete as Titans,” Ruetten said. “We have a very competitive roster with 11 players, and many have not had the opportunity to travel and compete in the 2018-19 season.”