PEORIA, Ill. – Senior Danielle Lemek (Doniphan, Neb./Doniphan-Trumbull) claimed the 10th individual medalist honor of her career and the Bradley women's golf team ran away with the team title by 21 shots Sunday at the Bradley Invitational to win the only home tournament on the schedule for the Braves in 2015-16.
Bradley turned in the lowest two rounds of the entire tournament, carding scores of 314 and 307 to finish at 45-over 621 as the Braves claimed the team title at the Bradley Invitational for the first time since 2013. Missouri Valley Conference rival Loyola was a distant second at 642 and defending tournament-champion Indiana State was third in the 13-team field at 649.
The tournament was shortened to 36 holes after play was suspended midway through Saturday's opening round due to cold temperatures and wind gusts approaching 50 miles per hour. Temperatures at the par-72 WeaverRidge Golf Club approached 70 degrees Sunday afternoon, but strong winds nearing 40 miles per hour still made for difficult play.
Lemek, who earned her first tournament win of 2015-16, defended her individual title from the 2015 Bradley Invitational and the win in the final home tournament of her career gave her three of the last four medalist titles at the Bradley Invite. Lemek also won the event as a freshman in 2013 and earned her 30th career top-10 finish in addition to placing in the top 10 for the seventh time this year.
A one-under 71 in the opening round put Lemek comfortably ahead and she carded a 76 in the afternoon to finish at three-over 147. She claimed the top spot on the individual leaderboard by four strokes, with fellow senior Jenna Roadley (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Sturgeon Heights) following in second at 151.
Roadley opened the day with a 79 and carded a 72 in her final round as a collegiate player at Bradley's home course to finish four shots back of Lemek. Roadley's 72 was the lowest round in the afternoon and moved her into a tie for sixth in career sub-80 rounds at Bradley (56).
The Braves had three of the top five in the field and four of the top nine, with sophomores Ally Scaccia (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) and Grace Henderson (Peachtree Corners, Ga./Blessed Trinity) joining Lemek and Roadley in the top 10. Scaccia rebounded from a first-round 82 to shoot a second-round 75 and tied for fifth overall at 157. Henderson was two shots back at 159, firing scores of 82 and 77 to tie for ninth as she placed in the top 10 for the first time in her career.
Senior Allison Walsh (Mt. Prospect, Ill./Mt. Prospect) completed the team scoring for Bradley with rounds of 84 and 82 to tie for 31st (166).
The field included five other Missouri Valley Conference schools besides Bradley. The two-round score of 614 for the Braves is the lowest for a 36-hole tournament at WeaverRidge, breaking the previous mark of 622 set by Southern Illinois during the fall of 2006.
Bradley will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Indiana State Invitational April 10 & 11 in the team's final outing before the Missouri Valley Conference Championship (April 17-19).
