CEDAR FALLS, IOWA . . . Wartburg took advantage of warm, dry conditions Friday and staked itself to a 10-stroke lead following the opening round of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Women’s Golf Championship at Pheasant Ridge Golf Club.
 
All five Knights fired rounds of 80 or below en route to a 307 total, matching the third-lowest 18-hole team total in tournament history. Luther College sits second at 317, followed by Simpson College (328), Central College (332) and Loras College (334) in third, fourth and fifth places, respectively. The University of Dubuque (352), Coe College (357) and Buena Vista University (371) sit sixth through eighth to round out the team scores.
 
Simpson’s Jennifer Gaffney fired an even-par 72 in the first round behind four birdies and leads the medalist race by two strokes over Wartburg’s Kelsi Sawatzky (76). Loras’ Abby Potts is third with a 75 and Simpson’s Stacy Bergeson is fourth after a 76, while Wartburg’s Molly McDonough and Taylor Roberts and Central’s Kelsey Van Tasell are all tied for fifth with 77s. Luther’s Annika Ring sits eighth after opening with a 78 and a three-way tie for ninth at 79 between Luther’s Laura Davis and Kate Traxler and Wartburg’s Samantha Heinen rounds out the top 10.
 
Gaffney’s 72 is tied for the second-lowest round in tournament history behind the 71 posted during round two of the 2008 Championship by three-time IIAC MVP Sarah Paulson of Central.
 
The IIAC Championship continues Saturday at Pheasant Ridge Golf Course in Cedar Falls.  Tee times begin at 9:00 a.m. with players from Wartburg, Luther and Simpson. Golfers from Central, Loras and Dubuque will be paired together in the second wave beginning at approximately 9:40 a.m., while players from Coe and Buena Vista will make up the third wave which will go off at around 10:15 a.m.
 
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Women's golf
Friday
IOWA CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
at Cedar Falls
(Pheasant Ridge G.C., par 72)
FIRST ROUND SCORES
Teams - 1. Wartburg, 307; 2. Luther, 317; 3. Simpson, 328; 4. Central, 332; 5. Loras, 334; 6. Dubuque, 352; 7. Coe, 357; 8. Buena Vista, 371.
Top 10 individuals - 1. Jennifer Gaffney (SIM), 72; 2. Kelsi Sawatzky (WAR), 74; 3. Abby Potts (LOR), 75; 4. Stacy Bergeson (SIM), 76; 5. (tie) Molly McDonough (WAR), Taylor Roberts (WAR) and Kelsey Van Tasell (CEN), 77; 8. Annika Ring (LUT), 78; 9. (tie) Laura Davis (LUT), Kate Traxler (LUT) and Samantha Heinen (WAR), 79.
BUENA VISTA (371): t26. Jasey Zander, 89; t31. Nora Seda, 93; t34. Megan Sweeney, 94; t37. Arinda Abbuhl, 95; 40. Ashley Miller, 106.
CENTRAL (332): t5. Van Tasell, 77; 14. Taylor Hill, 83; t16. Ashley Smith, 85; t20. Chelsey Shuey, 87; t34. Emily Fisher, 94.
COE (357): t20. Kayla Koschmeder, 87; t23. Chelsea Crain, 88; t26. Amber Suhr, 89; t31. Tarissa Hagenow, 93; t37. Addy Joss, 95.
DUBUQUE (352): 15. Lauren Smith, 84; t20. Alisha Terry, 87; t23. Dionna Jensen, 88; t31. Nikole Blewett, 93; 39. Lauren Allen, 100.
LORAS (334): 3. Potts, 75; t16. Lauren Gonner, 85; t18. Megan Gregg, 86; t23. Mara Simonson, 88; t26. Kathryn Belanger, 89.
LUTHER (317): 8. Ring, 78; t9. Davis, 79; t9. Traxler, 79; 13. Katie Gaudian, 81; t18. Isabelle Krogh, 86.
SIMPSON (328): 1. Gaffney, 72; 4. Bergeson, 76; t26. Jessica Lerdal, 89; 30. Kiley Wermersen, 91; t34. Molly Hill, 94.
WARTBURG (307): 2. Sawatzky, 74; t5. McDonough, 77; t5. Roberts, 77; t9. Heinen, 79; 12. Morgan McMillan, 80.