Wheeling, W. Va. – After taking the winter break to retool their skills, the Wheeling University Women’s Golf team kicks off their 2025 spring golf season down south. The Cardinals will head to the Calabash Invitational on Friday, hosted by Davis & Elkins, with first round play beginning at around 10 AM. The Cardinals continue to rebuild the culture of the program, and they look to lean on their experience to lead the young players as they continue to develop their skills.
During the fall season, the Cardinals entered the year with four golfers and had a nice mix of veteran leadership as well as newcomers to the course. They kicked the year off at the Golden Eagle Invitational, taking 15th in the field with a two-round score of 840. The Cardinals had one golfer crack the top 40 in the event, signaling a strong start to the season. As the year went on, the Cardinals numbers dropped and they competed as individuals through their final two regular season tournaments. When it came time for the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Women’s Golf Championships, the Cardinals would send three golfers to the event, with two of those reaching the final day of competition. In the end, both golfers would end in the top 20 of the event, marking the sixth straight season that the Cardinals have had at lest a player advance to the third day of the event.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was junior Ella Keffer, who would finish 15th at the event with a three-day score of 259 to finish +43 for the three-day event. It was the middle round of the event that saw Keffer put together her best effort of the three rounds, shooting an 84 and finishing 12 over par. The junior started her year strong in the summer, taking first in her flight of the 101st West Virginia Women’s Amateur, and carried that momentum into the season. As she heads into her spring season, Keffer is looking to continue improving upon her success, serving as a leader for the Cardinals as they continue to build the program’s foundation.
The other Cardinal to advance to the final day of competition at the MEC Women’s Golf Championships was Nicole Lincicome, who finished 19th with a three-day score of 262. Lincicome is a two-time All-MEC award winner, taking home Honorable Mention All-MEC honors during both her freshman and sophomore seasons. She will be competing in her last semester of golf as a Cardinal, and looks to finish strong. Joining the veterans are a pair of freshmen in Brielle Milhoan and Mallory Bozovich. Milhoan competed during the fall season, and was the Cardinal’s leading golfer in two of their four events, while Bozovich is competing in her first collegiate golf season. The two will lean on the veterans to help them grow their skills and be pillars of the program moving forward.
As they compete through their spring season, the Cardinals will be competing in three tournaments with all of those being in MEC play. After getting their start down in Florida, the Cardinals will come back for a pair of tournaments in late March and early April. They will start with the annual MEC Spring Golf Classic, running March 22nd and 23rd, and will round out the regular season in “The Battle for Wheeling” as they compete at the Oglebay Invitational hosted by West Liberty. The Cardinals will get a chance to measure themselves against several of their conference opponents, and get a gauge of what they need to work on as they head into the off-season and continue to build the program.
Tournament Details
The Calabash Invitational will be hosted by Davis & Elkins College and will be played at the Brunswick Plantation & Golf Resort across two days of competition. The tournament will feature 10 teams, with four being MEC teams, with Concord, Fairmont State, and Davis & Elkins appearing. The Cardinals will also see Mercyhurst, Saginaw Valley, UVA Wise, Bluefield State, Clarion, and CAL-U. The Cardinals will look to compete against some of the best teams in the region.
The Details
Round one of the Calabash Invitational is scheduled for Friday, March 7th, with tee times beginning at 10 AM. You can follow along with Live Results by clicking HERE.