SWAC Tune-Up Takes Place in North Carolina - Bethune-Cookman University Athletics (2025)

Wildcats to compete in ECU Ironwood Invitational

GREENVILLE, N.C.– Bethune-Cookman Women's Golf is set for the final regular season event of the 2024-25 season before turning its sights on the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Championships next month in Birmingham, Alabama. The Wildcats travel to Greenville, North Carolina for the two-day, 54-hole Ironwood Invitational hosted by East Carolina at Ironwood Golf & Country Club taking place March 30 through April 1.

The Ironwood Invitational begins Monday, March 31, at 8 a.m., with players enduring two rounds of 36-hole golf. The tournament will play as a par-72, 6,481-yard event.

Joining host East Carolina and Bethune-Cookman in this year's field are teams from Austin Peay, Boston, Elon, Jacksonville, Jacksonville State, Lehigh, Memphis, N.C. State, Radford, South Carolina, Stetson, Tulane, UNCG, Virginia Tech and William & Mary.

Live scoring for the ECU Ironwood Invitational is provided through SCORECARD by clippd and available here.

ABOUT THE COURSE
Ironwood Golf & Country Club opened in May of 1996. In 2018, Ironwood went under the private ownership of Renaissance Golf Group, LLC. The winding drive to the plantation-style club house, which sits overlooking the wooded back-nine on one of the uncharacteristic hills in Greenville, puts you in a relaxed, comfortable mood that eastern North Carolina is known for.

Ironwood was the first Lee Trevino Signature golf course east of the Mississippi. Trevino was a great professional golfer who won 29 PGA events including six (6) Majors, extended his career on the Senior PGA with 29 more victories, and now has signature courses that span from North Carolina to Vietnam.

In 2024, Ironwood installed new TifEagle Bermuda Grass greens along with enhancing the driving range and relocating the putting green next to the No. 1 tee box to add a short game area. The new greens and practice areas officially opened on September 7, 2024.

The "risk/reward" is a standout characteristic of the course. For example, the No. 14 hole has a pond that appears to be in the middle of the fairway. For the weekend golfer, you can make your way around the pond fairly easily. However, the seasoned player can take a chance and try to carry as much of the pond as they feel comfortable with, which will give a shorter shot to the flag. You will find this characteristic throughout the course. The tees have been built to give the feeling of hitting downhill even when hitting up hill. The mounding of the roughs and fairways will make errant shots bound back to the fairway, making every golfing experience an enjoyable one.

WILDCATS IN THE FIELD
1. Katie Robinson (Sr.) – American Canyon, Calif.
2. Skylar Kew (Jr.) – Dundas, Ontario
3. Meeya Marquez (Soph.) – Sherman Oaks, Calif.
4. Kamary Leaf (R-Sr.) – Brownsburg, Ind.
5. Jordan Davis (Jr.) – St. Petersburg, Fla.

QUOTES FROM STOKES
"This is going to be our toughest test of the spring. The golf course is one of the longest we've seen all year, and the back nine is the longest nine holes we'll play this season. It will be good to see how we handle a golf course that has been the final site for the NCAA tournament in the past, not to mention North Carolina is wonderful this time of year."

"This will be a nice test before the SWAC tournament. I'm excited and thankful for this team, and this is a great event to wrap up our regular season."

"Considering where we were in my first year, to be playing multiple events hosted by perennialNCAA Tournamentqualifiers is pretty special. Sometimes, I get ahead of myself and have to remind myselfthat building from where we were is a long process. There are going to be times where things come easy and work out exactly how they are supposed to. However, there will also be times where it's an uphill climb."

"There's a program to be built here, and every day we get closer to where we're going to be when it's a finished product. I'm just excited to play in this event at this golf course, and to continue to work to build this golf program."

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE CATS
Bethune-Cookman finished up the second round of the two-day, two-round inaugural Hammock Beach Invitational housed at Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa in Palm Coast, Florida. Purdue Fort Wayne was the host of the event.

Katie Robinson led the Wildcats with a total score of 162 (+18), tying for 25th place overall. She started strongly with a first-round 76, which was the team's best single-round score of the tournament. However, she struggled in the second round with an 86, resulting in a 10-stroke differential between her rounds.

Meeya Marquez shot an 82 in the first round, improving slightly to 81 in the second round for a total of 163 (+19). She finished tied for 27th place overall and was just one stroke behind Robinson.

Kamary Leaf carded identical rounds of 87 for a tournament total of 174 (+30), placing her tied for 35th in the field. Skylar Kew recorded scores of 89 and 88 for a total of 177 (+33), placing her 37th overall.

Rounding out the scorers for the Maroon and Gold was Leiahnni Smith finishing 40th in the field with rounds of 94 and 91, totaling 185 (+41). Her second-round score showed a three-stroke improvement from her opening 18 holes on Thursday. Competing as an individual for the Cats was Jordan Davis, as she finished 41st with rounds of 106 and 105 for a total of 211 (+67), respectfully.

Bethune-Cookman finished in seventh place in the tournament standings, posting team scores of 334 in the first round and 342 in the second round for a total of 676 (+100).

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