Ortega leads Pride women's golf to dominant win at Loras Fall Invite

Ortega leads Pride women's golf to dominant win at Loras Fall Invite
Results Results
September 15, 2025

ASBURY, Iowa - Getting their second tournament of the Fall 2025 season in at a more local location, the Clarke University women's golf team earned their first tournament win in nearly 10 years with a ressounding 37-stroke victory at the Loras Fall Invite at The Meadows on Sunday and Monday.

The Pride shot a two-round total of 652 with a 332 on Sunday's first round and improving on that score by 12 strokes on Monday in the final round to run away from the field after holding a 15-stroke lead on Sunday over eventual runner-up Simpson before being 22 strokes better than Simpson on Monday for the first tournament victory for CU women's golf since April of 2016 when they earned the final of their five wins that season at their own hosted Clarke Spring Invite on Apr. 22, 2016.

Clarke posted four of the top-eight scores in the field led by the individual championship for Freshman Amalia Ortega as the Quito, Ecuador native came one stroke shy of the school record with an opening round 74 and would follow it up with a 75 to finish with a tournament total of 149, the best two-round tournament score in program history, which was previously 152.

She earned the individual victory by 14 strokes over her teammate and fellow freshman Rose Halle, who shot a two-round total of 163 with a first round 82 and second round 81 as the Sammamish, Wash. native was able to improve by one stroke from her T-19 finish at the Pride's opening event two weekends ago in Cedar Rapids.

Outside of Ortega, all five in the Clarke lineup had better second round scores than first round scores as Holly Elliott was able to make her CU debut to a fifth place finish of 168 after going 85 on Sunday and 83 on Monday, Rose McCartney was able to improve on her 91 on Sunday to shoot 81 on Monday to finish tied for eighth place at 172, and Sydney Minyen would finish in a tie for 20th individually with a tournament total of 180 following 93 on Sunday and 87 on Monday.

Clarke women's golf will be back in action as their second group of five will make the trip to Indianola, Iowa for the Simpson Fall Invite at Indianola Country Club on Wednesday, Sept. 17.