Women’s Golf Opens Spring Schedule At Rio Verde Invite

Duane Zehr

Live Scoring

Women's Golf 2/20/2020 10:00:00 AM

PEORIA, Ill. -- Bradley Women's Golf opens its 2020 Spring schedule in familiar surroundings, with the Braves making their annual trip to the state of Arizona for the 18th annual Rio Verde Invitational which will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Rio Verde, Ariz.

A staple on the Bradley Women's Golf schedule, the Braves will be participating in the event for the 17th consecutive year. Bradley tied for fifth of 18 teams at last year's Rio Verde Invitational, which was shortened to 36 holes due to snow, and the Braves have placed in the top five in three of the last four trips to Rio Verde.

After playing at the Rio Verde Country Club's Quail Run course each of the past two years, this year's Rio Verde Invitational returns to the club's par-72 White Wing course. Action gets underway Friday with a 2 p.m. (CST) shotgun start. Saturday's second and Sunday's final round will each feature 9:30 a.m. (CST) shotgun starts. BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live scoring for all three rounds.

Mid-American Conference schools make up a good portion of the 18-team field with eight MAC teams participating (Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Ohio and tournament host Western Michigan). Missouri Valley Conference rivals Illinois State and Missouri State join the Braves in the field along with former Valley foe Wichita State. Seton Hall and Xavier from the Big East, in addition to Arkansas State, Boise State, Little Rock and Kansas City round out the competition.

Bradley will have its latest spring opener since 2015-16 and the Braves will start their spring schedule at the Rio Verde Invitational for the first time dating back to the team's first time in the event in 2003-04.

As a team, Bradley placed in the top half of each of its five fall tournaments and the Braves were second in three of the five outings. Bradley finished the fall with the second-best team stroke average in the MVC and starts the spring with the highest national ranking among Valley teams in the Golfstat.com ratings.

Senior Taylor Ledwein has placed in the top five at the Rio Verde Invitational each of the last two years, finishing third last season. Owning a 75.25 career stroke average at the Rio Verde Invitational, Ledwein has fired 75 or better five of eight career rounds at Rio Verde. She missed the first three tournaments of the 2019 fall slate, before returning to the lineup for the final two events. Despite the time off, Ledwein finished the fall with a 71.60 stroke average and shot 72 or better in each of her final four rounds as she closed the fall schedule with back-to-back second-place individual finishes.

Fellow senior Megan Medinger wrapped up last year's Rio Verde Invitational with a 77. This fall she was second on the team with a 77.29 stroke average and was one of three individuals to play in all 14 rounds for the Braves.

Freshman Mara Flaherty had a strong surge at the end of the fall schedule, posting a 76.60 stroke average over the final two events. She finished the fall with a 77.57 stroke average and boasted a pair of top-20 finishes.

Sophomore Megan Welch closed the fall on a high note, tying for 19^th at the Little Rock Classic in Bradley's last outing. Welch fired a career-best 72 in the second round of the Little Rock Classic and owned a 76.40 stroke average in the final two tournaments of the fall, which was second on the team behind Ledwein's 71.60 average over that same stretch.

Fellow sophomore Sarah Nacos rounds out the Bradley lineup after playing in three of five fall tournaments. The highlight of the fall slate for Nacos came at the Cardinal Classic in Yorktown, Ind., where she opened play with a career-best 75 for the best first-round score on the squad.

Bradley will have a break off from competition following the Rio Verde Invitational, before teeing it up at the River Landing Classic in Wilmington, N.C., March 9-10.

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