Lakers Compete at Regional Preview at Lake Panorama National
The Iowa Lakes men's and women's golf teams participated at the Region XI Spring Preview at Lake Panorama National on Friday. Rain and thunderstorms were in the forecast, however the course dodged the rain and was left with only strong winds of 20+ MPH and chilly temperatures around 45 degrees. The Lakers were able to post a team score of 317 which was good for a T-4th with Southwestern Community College, falling nine shots behind Kirkwood Community College.
The Laker men were led by Australian native Aaron James who medalled in the event posting a season low three under-par round of 69, a full four shots over the nearest competitor. The Regional Preview would mark the first win for Aaron James in his career with Iowa Lakes. Following up James were fellow freshman Sterling McIlravy with a 79, Carlton Rahn with an 84, Cameron Maxwell with an 85, and Morgan Edwards with an 88.
Due to the rough conditions this spring, the women's teams also competed in the original men's only event. Leading the way for the Lakers was Allison Freeman posting a 94, which was good enough for a T-6th finish. Following Freeman was Annika DuMoulin with a 97 and Molly Diekmann with a 112.
Coach Weber had this to say about the tournament; "The day started out with a sense of doubt with the forecast, but a couple hours in we realised we would finish the day. We were anticipating temps around 65 or 70 degrees and heavy rain, however we ended up with chilly conditions and strong winds. Today was a true test of mental focus and Aaron came through with one of the best rounds I have personally witnessed in quite a while, and it showed with a clear four shot victory over the field. He has been working his tail off over the season and has felt right on the edge of putting it all together, so it was great to seem him finally get rewarded from his hard work. He is a great player and is capable of this type of scoring on a day to day basis and could not be happier for him. On the women's side, it was good to see the ladies fight through a round and grind out some solid scores. They are working hard this season to get to Longbow for Nationals and we will see what they are capable of this upcoming weekend at Otter Creek. We will get back to practice on Monday to get focused and prepared for Regionals to begin."
The Iowa Lakes men's team will be back on the links on April 24th at Veenker Memorial Golf Course in Ames, Iowa for the DMACC Spring Invitational. The women's team will have less time to prepare as they will begin their fight to Arizona with rounds one and two of the Women's Region XI Championship Friday and Saturday at Otter Creek Golf Club in Ankeny, Iowa.