Tues., Sept. 1, 2009

  KENDALLVILLE, Ind. -- After shooting a program record 321, the University of Saint Francis shot a 322, but it wasn't enough to stave off hard-charging Bethel College. BC cut 14 strokes off its first-day 335 to tie USF, then win on the fifth-man score on Tuesday at Coblestone GC.

  The Pilots and USF finished tied at 643 after BC crafted a 308 on the second day of the 36-hole University of Saint Francis Invitational. Beth Slusher led the Pilots resurgence shaving 18-shots off her first-day 91 to finish Tuesday at 73.
  Lindsey Eaton led USF scores with a 158 adding a second-round 80 to her first-day score of 78. She finished third individually, one shot ahead of fourth-place finisher and teammate Katie Jones, who finished at 80 after shooting 79 on Monday at Noble Hawk. Hilary Bowman and Brittney Kyler tied for seventh at 163, Bowman shooting 82 on Tuesday and Kyler 80. Amber Black finished at 183 with a 90 on Tuesday after shooting 93 in the first round.

  Marian University finished third at 645 led by Angela Gauck, who captured medalist honors with a 149 (76-73). BC's Jessica Layman finished runnerup at 154 (73-81). Michelle Hall (Madonna) and Katie Powell (Bethel) tied for fifth at 161.
  Madonna finished fourth at 689 and Wheaton College fifth at 692 in the eight-team field.

  "It's disappointing to come so close and miss, but we nearly got Bethel and it's not like we fell apart today," Eaton said. "We were just one over the school-record we shot yesterday. We've made some huge strides as a team and we want to go out and keep improving."

  Bethel finished third in the final NAIA Top 25 for 2008-09 while USF was a received votes No. 26.

  "That's tough to lose like that because any one shot makes the difference," USF coach Chad LaCross said. "This was good measuring stick proving we are making positive progress."

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