By Marc Weems
The Youngstown State University women’s golf team earned its second victory of the season by winning the Sand Ridge Shootout at Sand Ridge Golf Club on Friday. The Penguins were led by Megan Creager and Katlyn Shutt, who each tied for first place individually.
YSU finished first as a team with a score of 305 in the greater Cleveland area. The Penguins were one of four teams competing in the one-day event and finished four strokes ahead of Cleveland State University.
There was a three-way tie for medalist honors as Creager, Shutt and Nichole Cox of Bowling Green each shot 74 over 18 holes on the par-72 course.
Creager finished atop the leaderboard for the first time in her career while Shutt previously earned medalist honors at the Horizon League Championships last season. Creager now has two top-10 finishes this season and six in the top 25.
Shutt’s 74 is her lowest single-round score of the season thus far. She was competing in just her fourth event of the season after missing the team’s entire fall slate due to injury. She was YSU’s top finisher last week at the Dolores Black Falcon Invitational.
Courtney Shutt finished only one stroke back of the medalists with a 75 to earn her third top-10 finish of the season.
Tori Utrup turned in an 82 to finish 13th while Kara Raines was tied for 16th with an 86. The two freshmen each posted their second-best finishes of the season.
Youngstown State will now travel to Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. to compete in the Horizon League Championships at Mission Inn Resort April 22-24.
Creager and Courtney Shutt were voted to the 2017-18 Horizon League Women’s Golf All-Academic Team for their success on the course and in the classroom, the conference announced Wednesday.
Both golfers have competed in each of the team’s nine events so far this season. Creager earned a first-place finish for the first time at the Sand Ridge Shootout on April 13. Creager has two top-10 finishes this season and six in the top-25. She has also been YSU’s top finisher on three occasions.
Courtney Shutt has three top-10 finishes this season and has been YSU’s top finisher in four events. She earned medalist honors for the first time in her career and led YSU to a first-place finish at the Marietta Pioneer Classic. Her first-round 71 at the Shirley Spork Eastern Michigan University Invitational is the lowest single-round score by any golfer on the team this season. Courtney Shutt matched a career-low and tied for the fourth-lowest individual round in program history. Courtney Shutt is currently fourth in the Horizon League with a 78.3 per round average.
Creager boasts a 3.8 GPA as a marketing management major and was the 2017-18 recipient of YSU’s Jerome P. Deibel Scholarship. Courtney Shutt also holds a 3.8 GPA as an exercise science/pre-physical therapy major.
The Youngstown State women’s golf team will be competing in the Horizon League Championships April 22-24 at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. The Penguins have captured three league titles (2003, 2009, 2015) and placed second as a team last season.
