ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Capital University men's and women's golf teams were in action on Sunday and Monday at the Muskingum Spring Invitational as their spring season is now in full swing. On the men's side, the Comets finished fifth in an eight-team field, struggling in round one with a 312 but bouncing back big time with a 299 in round two led by a 69 by Keegan Billingham to total 611 for the tournament. On the women's side CU shot 369 in round one and 370 in round to total 739, finishing fourth in a four-team field.

The highlight of the event for the Purple and White was sophomore Emma Konopa tying Julie Huffman's program 36-hole record of 161 after shooting an 81-80. She would go on to finish third overall.

WOMEN | R1: 369 | R2: 370 | TOTAL: 739
Cap put together a respectable round one, sitting in third – four shots ahead of Marietta – after 18 holes with a combined 369. Emma Konopa paced the Comets with an 81. Camryn Mauter, Hannah Combs, and Reese King came after, all in the 90s with Mauter having a 94 and Combs and King both having 97s. 

Despite another solid outing resulting in a 370 for round two, the Purple and White would drop a spot as Marietta dropped 12 shots to surge ahead, leaving Capital in fourth place with a total of 739. Konopa put up an 80 in round two to tie the program 36-hole record of 181 and finish third overall individually. Mauter dropped eight shots on the second day, shooting a career-low 86 to finish 14th at 180. Combs came in at 20th after tallying a 98 to total 195. Finally, Reese King rounded out her scorecard with a 106, totalling 203 and finishing 22nd.

"Emma and Cam have worked so hard," said coach Andy Garcia, "to now see them rewarded for all the countless hours they put in makes it all worthwhile. This team is so young and they are accomplishing so much while being short handed; it really just shows the heart and resiliency of all of them. Emma finishing third and tying that record which has stood for a while here shows that the sky is really the limit for her."

MEN | R1: 312 | R2: 299 | TOTAL: 611
CU's men's squad struggled a bit in round one, putting up a 312 to tie for sixth place after the first day. All five Comets finished in the 70s, led by Keegan Billingham at 77, with Adam Murphy and Logan Wycoff coming in at 78, and Ryan Murphy and Cole Crandall coming in at 79.

However, the Purple and White would bounce back big time on day two, dropping 13 strokes to 299 and moving up a spot in the standings, finishing fifth with a total of 611. Billingham lopped eight shots off his round one score, finishing round two with a 69 and ending at T-6th totalling 152. Adam Murphy dropped four strokes, making a 74 to finish T-17th with a 152. Ryan Murphy and Crandall both dropped a stroke and ended round two with 78s, both finishing T-31st at 157. Wycoff came in at T-33rd, ending with an 81 in round two to total 159.

"The men really stepped it up today," said coach Andy Garcia, "I think we got a really bad draw with the weather in round one and just played from behind in the rain for the majority of the first round. Incredible bounce back by all of them in round two but Keegan really just took it into another level today and love the confidence it gives him moving forward."

UP NEXT
The Comets are back in action on both sides this coming Sunday and Monday at the Jimmy Hanlin Classic hosted by Ohio Northern in Mayfield.