While most people northern Ohio were just trying to hold onto their hats due to severe winds, Ashland’s women’s golf team spent Sunday and Monday playing in the Tiffin University Invitational at Mohawk Country Club in Tiffin.

Through gusts of over 40 miles per hour, the Eagles were able to put together a team score of 658, good for third place. Senior Erin Misheff had the low score of the tournament, firing rounds of 80 and 76. Junior Holly James (81-78) finished just three shots behind to claim second.

Misheff’s first-day 80 left her one shot behind the leaders, Findlay’s Ashley Gubser and Ferris State’s Bryce Hetchler.

Playing with the leaders, Misheff got off to a hot start, making birdies on three of her first four holes. In total, she made eight bogies and four birdies on Monday. After a calm morning, the wind picked up as the golfers headed to the back nine. Pars were at a premium in the wind.

“If you were making par (Monday), it was almost like making birdie,” Misheff said. “It was that windy and that intense… You would stand on the green and the balls would go rolling off the greens because the wind was so crazy.”

James also took advantage of the calm morning. She was two-under par through her first eleven holes.

“For the first time in my life, honestly, I thought that I was making a run for it and I knew it would be on (Misheff),” she said.

James faded as the wind picked up, but Misheff did not. After the front nine, Hetchler was already out of it. On her 14th hole of the day Misheff made birdie and took advantage of a double-bogey by Gubser to go ahead by three shots. She kept that lead the rest of the way.

As for the team competition, the Eagles took an 80 from sophomore Nicole Trivisonno (T-12) and an 88 from Abby Tepe (T-21) Monday. Tepe (87) and Madison Musick (88) had the third and fourth scores Sunday.

Findlay won the tournament with a two-day score of 651. Ferris State was second with 656, two shots ahead of the Eagles.

“The first day killed us because we were 15 shots off the leader,” Misheff said.

Ashland will face both of the teams that beat it next week at the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships, held Monday and Tuesday at Midland Country Club in Michigan.

“We have a vengeance on them now, so I feel like we can go in there with more motivation to show them that we’re better than both of those teams,” Misheff said.

The Eagles have placed second in their last three appearances at the conference tournament. The team to beat this year will be No. 11 Grand Valley State.

None of the GLIAC teams have played the course before, so all will be on a level playing field. Misheff will be looking to defend an individual conference championship. It will be her last time playing the tournament.

“I want to finish with some good scores,” she said. “I won GLIACs and Regionals last year so I’m hoping to do it again.”

She believes the team also has a chance to do well if it can get back the consistency it had in the fall.

“We just need to get our crap together,” she said. “I have a feeling this weekend we’re going to get it together.”