The Wichita State women’s golf team finished off the Johnie Imes Invitational tournament in Columbia, Mo., yesterday, placing eighth as a team.

The women broke a school record in the process, shooting 896 at the par-72 course at The Club at Hawthorne for the entire tournament. The previous record stood at 900.

Head coach Tom McCurdy said the course was a challenging one.

“The golf course is set up hard,” McCurdy said. “All the teams lit it up, though. We were so much better than what we’ve seen before.

“The tournament went really well. We are undefeated against [Missouri Valley Conference] schools, we’ve played all the top teams and beaten them, so I’m very happy.”

McCurdy said he also noticed improvements in the overall play of his team during this tournament. He described it as “clean” playing.

Leading the team with her low score of 219 and tying for 19th place, junior Bryce Schroeder said she wasn’t happy with her performance despite hitting the ball well.

“I left a lot of shots out there and made some mistakes, but learned from it,” Schroeder said.

Considering the team didn’t get a practice round, Schroeder said everyone did well, and everyone was happy. The team was deprived a practice round due to vehicle difficulties that left them stuck at a gas station several hours away from the tournament.

“It’s a very tough course,” Schroeder said. “Playing blind we did really well.”

Junior Meghan Schuetz tied for a 26th place after shooting one-under par 71 her first round, one-over par 73 her second and finishing the tournament with a five-over par 77. Her 54-hole score is also tied for seventh best in school history.

Sophomore Maria Alejandra Villalobos came out of the tournament tied for 35th and tied a career best with her score of 225.

Schroeder said the team’s outlook is a positive one from here on out.

“We all know we can be better — we beat a school record, and we still feel bad about our scores,” Schroeder said. “Definitely expect to see some lower scores in the near future.”

Looking ahead, McCurdy said he wants to continue building off what they’ve accomplished so far. He said their next meet — the Diane Thomason Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa — is challenging, and it’s the team’s first time playing there.

“The greens are very severe, we’ll need to be below the hole,” McCurdy said. “[The team] is feeling good about it. I think we’re ready for it.”

Tee-off for the Diane Thomason Invitational is scheduled for Saturday.