By Caleb Rowan and Libbie Turner
The men’s golf team finished fifth out of 26 teams at the Midwest Regional at Fox Run on Oct. 10-11, led by junior Mason Banger’s 2-over 146. Senior Alex Williamson, who shot 8-over, failed to be the Bisons’ top finisher for the first time this season, but praised the play of his teammate.
“Mason finally put a couple of rounds together so it was good to see him play well,” Williamson said. “He did it all last year when I redshirted and definitely took on the role as a leader and a captain. I never expect him to play bad, he’s got potential through the roof.”
Banger’s first round 72 was his fifth round of par or better in his career. Junior Cameron Murry, the Bisons’ third-place finisher, shot a season best 10-over 154.
According to Williamson, the team was proud of its performance but felt it could’ve played better at the end of the second day.
“We didn’t feel like we played that great and still ended up fifth out of 26, which is really good,” Williamson said. “We had it going early (on day two) and we were all leading our groups, but we kind of fell apart in the end.”
The Bisons finished two shots behind third-place finisher Grand Valley State University, which is ranked 16th nationally. Williamson said being within reach of such quality opponents gives the team confidence in the improvement they’ve made.
“We’ve put in the work and the overall quality of the team is just better,” Williamson said. “I don’t think we’ve been satisfied this year with any of our finishes score-wise but our scoring average this year is five strokes better than any average in Harding history, so we can hopefully keep getting better.”
The Bisons have not taken the same five golfers to any tournament this year, which Williamson said is a testament to the team’s consistency from top to bottom.
“One of our goals each is year is to keep our scoring average below 300,” Williamson said. “We’re at 297 right now and to do that you have to have four scores — one score doesn’t do it for you. Everybody is contributing, so that speaks to how consistent we are across the board.”
The women’s team played at the Great American Conference (GAC) Preview, also on Oct. 10-11, finishing sixth out of eight teams. The Lady Bisons’ top two performers, freshmen Zhane Mayo and Bryle Alcorn, finished fifth and 25th respectively.
Despite windy conditions, Harding was able to shoot its best round since 2013. Alcorn said that the tournament helped the team measure its growth against the GAC’s best teams.
“It was good to see where we stood in our conference because those are the teams we’ll be playing in April,” Alcorn said. “We’ve been improving every single tournament, working hard in the gym and really coming together as a team, and we definitely have the ambition to try and be the best.”
The Lady Bisons will wrap up their fall season at the Henderson State University Fall Invite in Hot Springs, Arkansas, on Oct. 24. The Bisons will play their final tournament of the fall on Oct. 17 at the TVA Credit Union Classic at the University of North Alabama.
