Sept. 21, 2007

Central stages tourney

PELLA—Central College’s Jordan Williams (junior, Pella) shot 89 and stands third after the first round of the Central Invitational women’s golf tourney Friday.

With an abbreviated 15-player field, there are no team standings.

Buena Vista’s Chelsea Anderson fired a 79 for the first-round lead at the par-72 Bos Landen Golf Club. Saturday’s round will be staged at the Edmundson Golf Course in Oskaloosa.

Eva Downes (sophomore, Woodstock, Ill., Marian Catholic Central HS) is fourth with 91, followed by Nicole Wenstrand (freshman, Essex, Shenandoah HS) with 95, Lindsey Ellenson (freshman, Amana, Clear Creek-Amana HS) and Janelle Stevens (freshman, West Bend, West Bend-Mallard HS) with 100, Amanda Sullivan (senior, Bondurant, Bondurant-Farrar HS) with 101, Meghan Swella (junior, Yucca Valley, Calif.) with 104, Allison Crooks (freshman, Moline, Ill.) with 113 and Rachel Staman (freshman, Amana, Clear Creek-Amana HS) with 127.

“The front nine played really tough,” said coach Jodee Schaben. “But everybody recovered with a strong back nine. The greens were really fast so reading those and minimizing the damage was the key.”

It was the first tournament action for some of Central’s second-team players.

“I saw some good things from some of our younger players,” Schaben said. “I wasn’t sure how they would react to competition, but that was encouraging.”